Days in Avalon
by Starbeam13
Summary: Chapter 49 UP! Lily and James are the top two students in their year and get along with everyone else except each other. That is until their best friends form a plan. Read more of summary. Lily & James Sirius & OC story. Please R
1. The New Girl

**Summary:** Before Lily and James fell in love with each other and had Harry, they really didn't get along. In fact, they both down right hated each other at one time or another. So how in the world did these two finally get together and have 'the-boy-who-lived' if they hated each other for years? Could it have to do with timing? Being forced to actually talk to each other? Or could it have to do with their best friends manipulations? Here's a look at Lily and James through most of years at the famous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, some of their adventures, (ie: becoming illegal animagi, going through O.W.L.S.), and of course the introduction of the world's darkest wizard of all time, Lord Voldemort. So without further ado, here is 'Days in Avalon.'

**A/N-**The first couple of chapters are a prologue to this story. The actual story itself starts up around their fifth year.Days in Avalon

**Chapter One: The New Girl**

"Lily! Lily dear it's time to get up!" yelled Mrs. Evans

"Urgh! Come on mum. Just five more minutes, please!" groaned a still half asleep Lily.

"Lily Evans if you don't wake up you'll miss your train," hollered Mrs. Evans who was standing at the bottom of the staircase.

"Huh? Oh my gosh…I almost completely forgot!" said Lily who was now sitting up straight in her bed with her bright green eyes now wide open.

Lily Evans had almost forgotten that today was September 1st. The day she was to go back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to start her second year. All summer she had been dreaming of going back to the place that felt like her second home.

"I'll be there in a second mum!" shouted Lily as she jumped out of bed. She quickly got dressed in a green sweater and black pleated skirt. Lily then checked to make sure she had everything packed in her trunk, even though she made sure that everything was in there the previous night. After she finished brushing her teeth, and her shoulder length auburn hair, she made her way down the stairs to the kitchen. As she passed the family room, she noticed that her older sister Petunia was sitting on the couch talking to one of her friends from school on the telephone. Petunia glared at Lily as she walked down the short hall to the kitchen.

"Morning sweetie. Do you have all your things ready for when we leave?" asked Mrs. Evans as she placed some bacon from the frying pan on everyone's plate at the table.

"Yep, I'm all set and ready to go." chimed Lily as she sat down at the table and began to butter a piece of toast.

"Good. Petunia! Jonathan! Breakfast!" called Mrs. Evans as she finished placing everyone's breakfast on the table. She quickly brushed some of her brownish red hair out of her eyes as she finally sat down for the first time that morning. A few seconds later Lily's father, Jonathan Evans, walked into the kitchen. He was a fairly tall and handsome man with light brown hair and pale green eyes.

"Good morning all!" said Mr. Evans.

"Morning Jonathan."

"Morning daddy."

"And how is everyone this morning? Lily did you make sure you have all your things for school?" said Mr. Evans as he sat down and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Yes daddy," said Lily as she began to nibble at her plate of food.

"That's my girl. Where is your sister?"

"I'm right here," said Petunia as she entered into the kitchen. "Sorry I took so long. That was Veronica again. She just can't stop talking about her new boyfriend. She really needs to get a life."

Lily bit her lip trying not to laugh at what her sister was telling her parents. She knew for a fact 'Veronica' was actually a code name for the boyfriend that she didn't want her parents to know she had, Vernon. Both their parents agreed that their daughters shouldn't start to date until they were at least sixteen, which is what Petunia would turn within a month. Lily found out about Vernon on accident earlier that summer, when Lily went to use the phone and heard Petunia talking to him. She let out a slight snicker, which she quickly covered by clearing her throat when Petunia gave her a warning glance.

"Is there something the matter, Lily?" said Mrs. Evans.

"Oh, nope. It's nothing mum. Just had something stuck in my throat, is all. Gee Petunia, Veronica sure has been calling here a lot lately. How come you never mentioned _her_ before?" said Lily with a mischievous grin on her face. Petunia horse like face started to turn a lovely shade of pasty white at her little sister's remark.

"Now Lily, don't aggravate your sister. What she does with her friends is none of our business, so long as it isn't anything illegal. Am I right Petunia?" said Mr. Evans.

"Yes, daddy." said Petunia as she continued to glare at her little sibling from across the table.

"Good. Oh, Lily we'd better hurry up, now or you'll be late for your train," said Mr. Evans as he noticed what time it was on kitchen clock.

"What train? You're not going back to that _freak _school of yours, are you?" said Petunia as she took a sip of her orange juice.

"Petunia! How many times have we told you not to call your sister's school that? Apologize to her!" said a stern Mrs. Evans.

"Why should I?" said Petunia hotly.

"Don't take that tone with you mother, Petunia. You should be proud of your sister and what she is doing," said Mr. Evans.

"What's there to be proud of? My sister is a…freak! All summer it's been 'abracadabra' this and 'hocus pocus' that. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to have a sister who goes off to some crack headed school where they teach her and a bunch of other freaks like her how to do _magic _and stuff like that?"

Lily couldn't take hearing her sister berate her again. She had had enough of listening to her sister complaining about her school and doing her homework in broad daylight.

"Quite calling me that! At least mum and dad know what I'm doing when I'm at Hogwarts. Unlike with you. I bet you didn't even tell them that you almost failed your exams because you were too busy _snogging_ with your boyfriend _Vernon_. Or should I say '_Veronica'_."

"What?" said a highly surprised Mr. Evans.

"Is that true, Petunia?" said Mrs. Evans with an eyebrow raised. Petunia just stood there in a state of shock at what Lily had just said. Pure rage and hatred started to boil inside of her. Lily knew that by the look on her sister's face, she had definitely gone to far.

"You…little…_witch!_" growled Petunia as she started to lunge at Lily, but was stopped when Mr. Evans quickly got up and started to restrain her from behind.

"Calm down now, Petunia." struggled Mr. Evans as he fought to keep a hold of his daughter. "Lily, dear, go upstairs and bring down your things, and wait in the living room. We'll be ready to take you to the train station in a few minutes."

Lily didn't even need to be told twice. She quickly and eagerly got up from the table and ran up to her room, glad to be away from a very pissed off Petunia. As she closed the door and leaned up against it to catch her breath, feelings of guilt and regret started to form in her. She knew that it was wrong to blab about Petunia's boyfriend like that to her parents, even after she did promise her that she wouldn't say anything to them. It was almost hard to imagine that a little over a year ago, Lily and Petunia got along very well. In fact, they were the best of friends, until the day Lily got her letter from Hogwarts. After that Petunia started to become distant and slightly afraid of her. But now that fear became loathsome and hateful. Still to this day, Lily sometimes did wish that things would go back to normal, so that way she could have a sister again.

When Lily finally got her heavy trunk down the staircase, she could hear her parents and Petunia talking in the kitchen.

"…we're only doing this for your own good, Petunia. We just don't want to see you get hurt. That's all," came Mr. Evans voice.

"I still can't believe that I'm the one being punished. After what she did?" said an outraged Petunia.

"Darling you know better than to defy us. We set up these 'rules' so that we can keep the both of you safe. Besides, you shouldn't have put your little sister in that predicament," said Mrs. Evans.

"Oh, yes I forgot. Flawless little Lily. The perfect little…freak!"

"Petunia we have told you countless times not to call you sister that. You should be proud that we have a witch in the family. Now I want you to go upstairs and think about what you have done," said Mrs. Evans. A few seconds later, Petunia came marching through the kitchen door and stop dead in her tracks when she saw Lily waiting in the archway of the living room.

"Well I hope that you're happy now. Thanks to you, I'm grounded until I go back to school, and I can't use the phone. Now mum and dad want me to stay away from Vernon until they meet him," spat Petunia with such disgust in her voice.

"I'm really sorry Petunia. I didn't mean to blab like that. I just wasn't thinking," said Lily in a sincere tone.

"Just pray that you haven't ruined my chances with Vernon, because if you have I swear no amount of magic will save you once I'm through with you," growled Petunia. With that she ran up the stairs and slam the door to her room shut causing Lily to jump.

'_So much for trying to smooth things over_," thought Lily.

"Ready to go Lily dear?" asked Mr. Evans as he came out of the kitchen.

"Yes, I'm ready," said Lily in a low voice.

"Don't worry about Petunia, dear. She'll be all right, once she's calm down," said Mr. Evans as he went over and gave his youngest daughter a hug. "Come on then, let's get your trunk into the car."

After about another ten minutes or so, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, and Lily climbed into their car and drove away from their house to the busy city of London. By the time they reached King's Cross Station, it was already quarter past ten. They loaded the trolley with all of Lily's school things and made their way to platforms 9 and 10 of the station.

She said good-bye to her mum and dad and gave them both quick pecks on the cheeks. As she walked up to the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, she made sure that no one was really looking at her and then ran through the barrier to platform 9 ¾. When she got on to the platform she saw the bright red locomotive of the Hogwarts Express. As she made her way through the crowds of students and parents, Lily heard someone call out to her.

"Oy, Lily! Lily! Lily, over here!"

She spun around and saw her good friend Felicia Figg waving at her.

"Hey Felicia! Oh, it's so good to see you!" cried Lily as she gave her friend a hug hello.

"It's good to see you too," said Felicia. She was a little bit taller than Lily with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, and a few freckles on her face. "Have you seen Kelly or Karen yet?"

"No I haven't. You?"

"Nope. So did you have a nice summer?"

"Oh, it was great! My family and I went to Italy. It was so much fun and educational too. The way wizards in the old days use to get around was so extraordinary," exclaimed Lily with her eyes all bright twinkling.

"Lily is that all you ever think about? Educational this, and that?" chuckled Felicia.

"Well…no. I was just saying…" said Lily quietly, but was interrupted by someone shouting.

"Hey, there you guys are. We've been looking everywhere for you. Kelly over here, I found them!" bellowed Karen Crane as she walked up to Lily and Felicia. Right behind her, fighting her way through a crowd of fifth years was their other friend Kelly Rocker.

"About time! Hey gals, what's up?" said Kelly brightly.

"Nothing much. I was just telling Felicia about my summer trip with my family," said Lily. "Oh, it's so good to see the both of you."

"Looks like Kelly got some sun, eh?" said Felicia as she looked at the brightly tanned witch now standing next to her.

"Yeah, my family and I went to the south of France this summer. It was great! The 'scenery' was very pleasant," said Kelly with an evil grin.

"Oh, I bet the beaches are beautiful," said Karen oblivious to what Kelly was talking about.

"No, not the beaches," chuckled Kelly. "Well, yes they were gorgeous, but I'm talking about all the good looking guys there."

"Really? Just how good looking were they?" asked an eager Felicia.

"Oh, you two. Can't you both think of something else besides _boys_?" exasperated Lily.

"Yeah, really. I mean come on, there are other important things to think about." said Karen.

"Yeah we know but…uh oh," said Felicia as she looked over Lily and Karen's shoulders.

"What? What is it?" asked both Karen and Lily at the same time.

"Trouble," said Kelly who could also see what Felicia was looking at.

Lily and Karen both turned around to look at what their two friends were looking at. Suddenly, Lily caught what Felicia and Kelly were both looking at. Through the crowds of students and parents, Lily could see two boys with jet-black hair. One of them was a tall, good-looking, second-year with long straight hair. The other boy had really untidy hair, glasses, and was a few inches shorter and skinnier than his friend. Lily felt her stomach slightly turn with disgust at the sight of Sirius Black and James Potter.

"Urgh, not those two," griped Karen with a disgust tone.

"Oh, and here comes the other two," said Kelly as she motioned to the two boys coming up behind James and Sirius. One was a short chubby boy named Peter Pettigrew, and the other was a slightly pale, but taller boy with light brown hair. His name was Remus Lupin.

"I still can't believe that Dumbledore didn't expel them for all those pranks they pulled last year," said Felicia with a slight fierce look on her face.

"Yeah. Come on then, let's find a compartment before they start up again," said Lily as she started to push her trolley to the train. The four girls then got their trunks, and bags on to the train and stowed them away for a bit. They got off the train and said good-bye to Felicia's parents and to Karen's dad, aunt and uncle. After they received last minute hugs and well wishes, the four girls got on the train and waved good-bye as the Hogwarts Express pulled away from Platform 9 ¾.

"All right then. Let's go find an empty compartment," said Felicia as she started down the hall.

"Yeah, before we run into the 'Prank Pack'. " said Karen as she rolled her eyes.

The girls started down the corridor looking for an empty compartment. They ran into a few more friends in different compartments, but they couldn't find a compartment for themselves. As they got toward the back of the train, Lily could hear James and Sirius talking loudly through the closed door of their compartment. She quietly walked past the door trying hard not to make a sound to signal her presence outside their door. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that her three friends were talking to some third years in another compartment. When Lily reached the second to the last compartment on the train, she noticed that it was almost completely empty. All except for one girl who was resting her chin in her hand as she gazed out the window at the traveling buildings and homes. Lily guessed that the girl sensed that she was there because she turned around and looked at Lily with a puzzled looked upon her face.

"Umm…hi. Can I help you something?" said the girl in a polite and concerned tone.

"Well…umm…yes. See I was wondering if my friends and I could join you. Everywhere else is full," said Lily.

"Oh, sure! By all means. It'd be nice to have some company," said the girl happily with a smile. She had slightly long blond hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, and was wearing a pair of bell-bottom jeans and a white t-shirt. She was a fairly pretty girl with slightly chubby checks that she had almost out grown, and bright blue eyes.

"Thanks! Hey gals, over here!" called Lily as she waved for her friends to come to the back of the train, before she turned back to the girl. "Oh I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself. My name is Lily, Lily Evans," she said cheerfully and extended her right hand to girl.

"Miranda. Miranda Starmenter. But everyone calls me Andy," said Miranda as she stood up and shook Lily's hand. By then the three girls had arrived at the compartment.

"Ah, about time. My feet are killing me," said Kelly. "Oh! Who's this?" noticing the blond haired girl next to Lily.

"Hey gals, this is Andy. Andy this is Felicia," she said pointing to Felicia with her dark brown hair, "Kelly," she said directing toward the witch with short black hair and caramel eyes, "and Karen." pointing to the hazel eyed, witch with medium brown hair that had natural blond highlights.

"Hi," said Miranda awkwardly to the three girls who were beaming at her.

"Hello!" they all said together.

"So, Andy what year are you in?" said Kelly as all the girls settled themselves into their seats.

"I'm a second year. You?"

"Same for all of us," said Felicia. "How come we've never seen you in any of our classes last year?"

"Well, you probably didn't see me because I didn't go to Hogwarts my first year. My family and I just moved back to England from America this past July," said Miranda.

"Wow! So you went to an American Wizarding school?" said Karen with a highly impressed look on her face.

"Yep, I went to Sikeston's School for the Gifted Children. It's just outside of New York City. I still couldn't believe how close it was to my house and I didn't even know it was there!" chuckled Miranda.

"So what brings you back to England, Andy?" said Lily who was starting to get interested in her new friend's story.

"Well, my dad really. See he's a lawyer for a company and he was sent to America to help start up a new division in the company, and that was about twelve years ago. It was suppose to take longer to set it up, but my dad was able to shave off a couple of years. So now that he's done, we moved back to London."

"Cool!" said Kelly

"Interesting." remarked Felicia.

"So how do you like England so far?" said Karen.

"It's great! I've been here before, mostly to visit my grandfather. I've always wanted to live here ever since I was a little kid. Unlike my sister." said Miranda as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you have a sister?" inquired Kelly.

"Yeah, two of them; and a brother, also. I use to have an older brother, but he died a few years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Karen and Kelly together.

"Yeah, me too," said Miranda sadly. "Tyler, my brother, was a wizard too. The first in our family for nearly five hundred years."

"Wow!" said Kelly.

"Really?" expressed Lily who was highly impressed and curious about the new girl's family history.

"So then you're a muggle-born then?" inquired Felicia.

"Is it that obvious?" alleged Miranda in a surprised tone.

"Oh, don't mind her. Felicia a pure blood. She's never really been around muggles before," said Lily.

"That's not true!" said a slightly miffed Felicia. "My sister Arabella is a squib."

"Squib?" inquired a puzzled Miranda. _'Is that even a word?' _she thought.

"It means she's born into a wizard family without a drop a magic in her. It's like the opposite of muggle-born," replied Felicia.

"Yeah, well at least your sister isn't a pain like mine," huffed Lily.

"You have a sister who's a squib too?" asked Miranda who was now getting into learning about her new friends lives.

"No, I'm a muggle-born like yourself. So is Kelly, and Karen's half muggle and half wizard. My sister, Petunia is such a pain. We use to be the best of friends, but now…urgh, she is so irritating." said Lily through clenched teeth and rolling her eyes.

"Kinda sounds like my sister Jen, although she's a witch. Her and my other brother Jason will be coming to Hogwarts next year. Although Jen would prefer _not_ being a witch. She's a little sensitive about being different then other people…but she'll grow out of it," said Miranda brightly.

"So, how come there hasn't been a wizard in your family for almost five hundred years?" asked an eager Karen.

"Well, it's kind of a long story," said Miranda awkwardly while turning a little bit pink.

"We have plenty of time," said Kelly who was gaining interest.

"Yeah, we shouldn't be arriving at Hogwarts for at least of a few more hours," chimed Lily as she checked her watch.

So Miranda told the foursome about how a dark wizard named Mordar had cursed her family and how he killed her great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Michael Marshall. She told them about how Michael's wife Andrea married another man by the name of Richard Callaway in order to protect their children when her husband was murdered. She also told them how she met her when her and Miranda's grandfather, John, came to their house in New York and told Miranda and her parents that she was a witch.

"Whoa! That's an amazing story!" remarked Kelly.

"Yeah, that was totally wicked!" exclaimed Felicia as she opened a Chocolate Frog that the girls got off the trolley cart.

"I know. I'm still not sure if all of this is real or just some really strange dream," giggled Miranda as she helped herself to some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. "Mmmm…Cherry and Dirt." All of the girls began to laugh at Miranda's remark, including Miranda herself.

"I should send some of these to Jason. Bet he'd love to try a booger or ear wax flavored bean," said Miranda.

"Ewwwww!" giggled all the girls. As all five of the girls continued to laugh, joke around, and blow some of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, they suddenly heard a slight explosion and several boys laughing very loudly.

"Ha ha! Way to go James! That'll teach 'ol Snappy a thing or two," chuckled a boy.

"Thanks mate." said another boy. All of the groaned and drew up disgusted looks upon their faces, except for Miranda who was looking at her new friends slightly confused.

"Not again!" groaned Karen.

"I can't believe those guys!" exasperated Felicia as she rolled her eyes.

"You'd think that they'd learn their lesson by now. But noooooooo! They still continue to act like a bunch of three year olds!" exclaimed Kelly.

"Who are you guys talking about?" said Miranda eagerly.

"A couple of guys who are in our year. They are notorious pranksters," said Lily with the utmost disgust in her voice.

"Really?" said an intrigued Miranda.

"Yeah, they pull the worst sort of pranks ever," said Karen who was slightly miffed as the boys started up another round of laughing like a bunch of hyenas.

"What sort of pranks?"

"Well let's see…there was the time the charmed everyone's seat in History of Magic to collapse every time someone sat on them," said Kelly.

"Then their was the time that they set off dung bombs right outside the Great Hall just as everyone was leaving after dinner. Oooh, McGonagall was mad at them," said Felicia.

"Oh, and let's not forget the time they charmed everyone's hair to change different colors when ever someone walked through the port hole, and they didn't even perform the right spell. They used the hair dying charm that doesn't have a counter curse for it," said Lily.

"Wow! How many of them are there?" inquired Miranda who was slightly skeptical of the stories the four of them were telling her.

"Only four, but most of them were pulled off by only two of them: James Potter and Sirius Black," said Lily with a slight shutter. Miranda also noticed the other three shuttering too at the mention of those two names. She even thought that Felicia was possibly going to be sick but look on her face. "Oh some days I just can't stand them!" added Lily.

"Yeah but the other two aren't really that bad. Their names are Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin by the way," said Karen. The moment she said the name 'Remus Lupin' her three other friends were trying hard to suppress a fit a giggles that came upon them. "What's so funny?" asked a very confused Karen.

"It's nothing Kar. Oh but don't worry though," said Felicia directing back to Miranda. "I'm sure you'll meet them. Especially if your in Gryffindor."

"Er-Gryffindor?" said a puzzled Miranda.

"One of the houses you'll be sorted into. There are four of them: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Karen's in Hufflepuff and the rest of us are in Gryffindor," said Lily.

"Oh," said Miranda drawly.

"Just hope that you don't get into Slytherin. Almost every wizard or witch that has come from that house, that has turned bad," said Felicia.

"Well, I guess we'd better change. We should be there shortly," said Lily as she looked at her watch to see what time it was. With that, all the girls went and changed into their uniforms and black robes.

When thy finally arrived at Hogwarts, they all heard the giant of a man, Hagrid, call out for the first years. Lily and the rest of the girls pulled Miranda along toward the horseless carriages. When they got in, Kelly pointed out a small group of guys waiting for a carriage.

"That's them," she said.

Miranda could see a short mousy looking boy, a slightly pale faced boy, a boy who's raven hair looked liked it hadn't been combed in ages, and another dark haired boy who had bent down to tie his shoe. _'They don't look that bad,' _she thought.

As the carriages pulled them along, they chatted eagerly about the new school year and what would happen at the Welcome Back feast. In no time flat, the carriages stopped right at the grand stone steps of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Wow!" said Miranda breathlessly as she got out of the carriage and gazed at the massive castle before her. "It's amazing."

As the five girls climbed the steps to the school Professor McGonagall met them up at the Entrance Hall.

"Excuse me…Ms. Starmenter?" she said in a sort of stern tone.

"Y-yes?" said Miranda a little shaky as she looked at the severe looking witch before.

"I'll ask that you come with me for a moment before you are sorted into your house," she said in a businesswoman like tone.

"A-alright." said Miranda sheepishly. "See you gals later."

"Good luck." said all four girls as they watched her follow Professor McGonagall into another room.

"She looked really nerves," said Karen.

"Well we all did last year, remember?" said Lily as the group walk toward the Great Hall.

"Ah, don't worry. She'll be all right," said Felicia. The girls then went into the Great Hall and took their seats at their respected houses.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own nor did I think up of anything to do with the original Harry Potter. It's all J.K.'s doing. I merely borrowed her characters. I only own this story and the characters I made up. 


	2. The Tale of Pranks

Days in Avalon

Chapter Two: The Tale of Pranks

(At the same time…)

"Hey who's the girl?" asked Peter as he got off the train.

"What girl?" replied Remus.

"Aww, does ickle Petey have a crush on a girly?" mocked Sirius in a baby tone.

"Ah, shut up would you?" said James as he got off the train. "Lay off the poor bloke, Sirius. Besides, people will start to get the wrong impression on our little Petey here." he said as he put an arm around Peter in a rough manly way.

Peter shrugged him off while turning a little pink in the ears. "You guys I'm talking about the girl with Kelly, Karen, Lily, and Felicia," he said as he pointed to the group of girls heading for the carriages.

"Don't know. Don't really care," said Sirius as he bent down to tie his shoelaces.

"Must be some new girl," said Remus as he saw the blond haired girl get in to a carriage followed by a little brown haired girl.

"Come on mates. Let's get a carriage. I'm starving," said James as he scratched his head causing is already untidy hair to look even messier. "Bloody hell," he muttered under his breath as he tried to neaten it to no avail. The foursome headed for the nearest unoccupied carriage and got in one by one.

"So Sir, who should we pick to be our next victim?" said James with an evil grin.

"Don't really know there, mate. You got me. Hmmm…how about Malfoy?"

"Nah, we got him right before we left last term. Besides, he'll be ready for it after what we did to ol' Snivellus."

"True. How about Crabbe?"

"Nah, too easy. What about O'Connell?"

"Please! Talk about easy." said Sirius as he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, even Peter could get that thick buffoon," chuckled Remus as he looked out the window at the night sky where a slightly full moon was hanging overhead.

"Hey what about Lily?" chimed Sirius.

"Evans? Are you mad!" said an outraged James.

"What? Does our very own James Potter have a crush on the little red-headed girl?" said Sirius with a sly smirk on his face.

"No, I just value my own arse thanks! Besides after the prank we pulled on her right before Easter, I wouldn't doubt if she and her friends didn't hex us to hell," said James in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I tried to tell you guys that that was a bad idea," said Remus.

"Oh, come on Rem. You got to admit that the look on their faces was priceless!" laughed Sirius.

Remus started to turn a pale pink and tried to fight the smile that was quickly spreading across his face. Peter went into a fit of giggles remembering the prank. The foursome continued to talk about what sort of pranks they were going to pull this school year and who would make great targets all the way up to the castle.

When they got out of the carriage they were in awe by the castle that stood before them. As they started to climb the stone steps of the school, they noticed that a group of second year girls (and possible targets) were already half way up to the school. When they reached the Entrance Hall, they saw that the new girl was being led away by McGonagall.

"Wonder who she is," said James.

"Don't know, but I guess we'll find out soon," said Remus.

"Personally I'm just grateful that she's with McGonagall. Who ever she is," said Sirius.

"Why do you say that?" replied an eager Peter.

"Because that gives us more time to enjoy ourselves before McGonagall gets her knickers all in a twist again," said Sirius in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You mean, it gives you more time to prank people before she catches you and throws you in detention again," said Remus.

Sirius glared at his friend and responded with what sounded like 'whatever' under his breath as he exhaled. "Come on gents. Let's find our seats. My stomach is beginning to growl." With that a low rumble began to emit from the direction of Sirius's stomach.

"Geez Sirius, can't you keep that thing in check," said James he began to lead the group into the Great Hall for the Welcome Back feast.

"I wouldn't talk if I were you Jamesie," chuckled Sirius as he joined his best friend's side. Suddenly another low rumble began to surface but this time it was coming from James. When the four friends got into the Great Hall, they made their way toward the Gryffindor table. As they past by the other tables, James happened to look over at the Slytherin table and received a loath some stare from a skinny, greased hair Severus Snape, to which James returned right back at him.

When everyone was settled in, Professor McGonagall led the new first years into the hall to commence the Sorting Ceremony. The old tattered hat that was placed on stool, began to sing its little song and started to sort out the students crying out at different periods of time: "Hufflepuff!" and "Slytherin!" "Gryffindor", and again "Hufflepuff!" "Ravenclaw!" to each student who placed the hat on their head. As the last person was sorted, each house received about the same number of students (19). After the last person, a boy who was sorted into Ravenclaw finally sat down; Professor Dumbledore stood up to make his speech.

"Welcome to another year here at Hogwarts. I would like to extend a heartfelt welcome to all of the first years and a welcome back to all returning students. I would also like to introduce our new caretaker Mr. Filtch who will be replacing Mr. McLean. Mr. McLean decided to retire at the end of last term after nearly fifty years of service. I remember when…"

* * *

Outside the hall Miranda could hear Professor Dumbledore give a speech about how he remembered when he and this Mr. McLean first met and something about a mass of dung bombs that were placed in the caretakers office at the start of year. She looked through a crack in the great oak doors into the hall and could see hundreds of students at four large tables. Some of the students were listening to what the headmaster had to say, while others were whispering to their friends about how their summer holiday was. A sense of fear and panic began to rise in her as she continued to look through the crack. _'They want me to go in front of everybody!'_ she thought as she went over in her head what Professor McGonagall had told her before she went to gather the first years. Feeling very self-conscience, Andy went to a near by window to look at her reflection. 

She decided to loose the ponytail and instead took out a small hair clip from her robes that her mother gave her before she went through the barrier back at King's Cross Station. She pulled back a few pieces of her hair that were around her face into the clip to give it a half up half down look, that looked fairly attractive with her slightly wavy hair.

"What do we have here? A lost little student?" said a squeaky voice from behind.

Startled, Miranda turned around to see who was speaking to her, except there was no one there. Confused and thinking that she was losing her mind, she suddenly heard hysterical cackling from above her. Floating several feet above her was a little man with dark eyes, staring down at her.

"Ooooooh, a new ickle student! Doesn't like being with the rest of the lot?"

"Excuse me?" said Miranda in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Ah, it speaks! Thought it would be one of those funny students that don't understand English."

"Well as you can see I'm not. Who are you anyways?"

"Who are you?"

"I asked you first," said Miranda with her arms crossed.

"I asked you second," said the little man who mirrored her action.

"PEEVES!" roared another voice that nearly caused Miranda to scream.

"Uh-oh! Got to go!" shrieked the little man as he flew away up a flight of stairs and disappeared. A few seconds latter a transparent man with silver spots splattered all over his clothes appeared through a wall waving a sword in front of him.

"I'll get you, you little ingrate!" he cried as he followed where the little man flew a second ago.

"Oh, don't mind him, he's always like that when it comes to Peeves," said a jolly voice from behind Miranda. She spun around and was shocked to see two more transparent figures behind her. One was a fat friar; the other was a tall man with a ruffle collar that he kept fixing.

"Well I don't see why the Bloody Barron even bothers. No matter what he does Peeves will always be a troublemaker. Ah, good evening, my dear," said the ghost with the ruffle collar.

"H-hello," stuttered Miranda. She had never seen a ghost before in her life. Sure she's heard of ghosts being at Hogwarts, but she didn't know that they were actually real.

"Transfer student? Haven't had one of those in years. What year are you starting?" inquired the friar.

"S-second. S-second Year," said Miranda quietly.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff; my old house. See you soon," said the pleasant friar. With that the two ghosts floated toward the opposite wall that led into the dinning room.

* * *

"_Oh_ when is he going to be done? I'm starving," whined Sirius as he grabbed his stomach. 

"Come on Sir, can't you control that sack of yours?" said James.

"I wouldn't talk if I were you," said Remus as he continued to listen to Dumbledore's speech about the new caretaker and how there would be some additions in the coming year.

"He's got you there mate," chuckled Sirius.

"Shut up," growled James. He glanced down the table to see three girls talking in hush whispers. '_Wonder what you're up to Evans,'_ thought James; he was brought out of his thoughts when he saw Nearly-Headless-Nick float over towards them, and went back to trying to listen to Dumbledore.

"As I had mentioned before, there will be some new additions to the school and one of them happens to be a new student who will be joining our second-years in their studies. She is joining us from Sikeston's School for the Gifted in New York City. Please let's give a nice warm welcome to Ms. Miranda Starmenter," said Dumbledore as he raised a hand to the direction of the closed doors of the great hall. Every Hogwarts student turned toward the direction to where their headmaster was pointing. Suddenly the massive doors of the great hall opened to reveal a slightly startled and scared second year girl.

Andy could feel hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at her. She never felt more scared in her life. She willed her feet forward but for some reason they felt glued to the floor. It felt like an eternity standing in the doorway, but when she looked ahead and saw the kind old wizard she had met about a month ago at her grandmother Andrea's mansion in Manchester, she started to feel more relaxed.

_'Just remember to be yourself and to trust in your heart and in your feelings. No one will think less of you as long as you believe in who you are.'_ said the voice of Miranda's grandmother in her head_. 'Hold your head high, and the rest is just a breeze!'_ As she gazed at the head table, she could see the bright sparkle in the headmaster's blue eyes and started to feel her fears drain away. She straightened herself up and continued to look straight ahead at the head table. As she walked through the threshold a smile slowly crept up upon her face. All the students from each house began to whisper eagerly to each of their friends.

"Wow, an American!" said one eager Hufflepuff girl.

"Wonder why she's here in England," said a Ravenclaw boy.

"Look there she is," said Kelly.

"She looks a little bit better," said Lily.

"Yeah, but she still looks a little green to me," said Felicia.

(Down the table)

"So that's the new girl," said Peter.

"She looks pretty friendly. Probably will end up in Hufflepuff," said Remus.

"Yeah she does look pretty friendly, but looks can be deceiving. Take those three down there," said James as he nodded his head toward Lily, Kelly, and Felicia.

"The only reason why you don't like them is because they get even," said Remus. At that remark, James rolled his eyes and turned to his best friend.

"What do you think Sirius? Sirius?"

But Sirius didn't answer him. James saw that he had this glazed look in his eyes and that he was staring at something. He looked in the direction in which Sirius was staring at and all he could see was the new girl walking up to the sorting hat.

"Oy! Earth to Sirius. Come in Sirius." said James as he waved his hand in front of his best friend's eyes.

"Huh? Who? What?" mumbled Sirius as he came out of his daze. "Oh, sorry mate did you say something?"

"Uh yeah….Sirius mate, are you all right? You were like a million miles away," said James with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine," said Sirius simply.

"What were you thinking about?" asked Remus.

"Huh? Oh, I was um…thinking about what Malfoy would look like with orange scales and purple hair," said Sirius in strange tone that he hoped his friends didn't notice. "So when's this girl going to get sorted. I'm starving," he added quickly, eager to change the subject. James and Remus both looked at each other and knew that the other was thinking the same thing: _'What's up with him?'_

"Hey what's up with twin number two," asked Felicia as she notice Sirius looking spaced out.

"Don't know. Probably daydreaming about Quidditch or the perfect prank to pull in the middle of History of Magic," said Kelly.

"I don't know Kel, there something about that look in his eye," said Lily noticing that Sirius was staring at something across the hall. She turned around to see what was so fascinating, but could only see Andy walking up to Professor McGonagall with the sorting hat. _'Could he be staring at Andy?'_

"Everyone this is Ms. Miranda Starmenter," said Dumbledore happily. With that Andy gave a half smile and timid wave. _'Why do they have to stare at me like that?' _she asked herself. "and now for the sorting. Professor."

"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "Now Ms. Starmenter, I shall place the sorting hat on your head and you will be placed into one of the house that I discussed with you early." Andy gave a slight nod and walked over to where the small stool stood. On it was the tattered, frayed hat that looked like it had seen better days.

Professor McGonagall removed the hat so Andy could sit down. Soon all Andy could see was the darkness from inside the hat.

"Hmmmm….well I must say you are a challenge, Starmenter. Haven't had one like you in awhile. Let's see….I see plenty of brains, worthy for Ravenclaw. Just and loyal, a fine definition of Hufflepuff. Ah….I see that you are no stranger to finding a mean to you ends. But you defiantly have courage and spirit. Hmmmm…..where to put you."

_'Geez how long is this going to take?'_ thought Andy. She was starting to become fearful that she would be under the hat forever or that it wouldn't be able to place her in a house. Suddenly Felicia's voice entered her thoughts_, 'There's not a wizard nor witch that hasn't come from that house, that hasn't turned bad'._

"Please not Slytherin," whispered Andy.

"Hmmm….and why not Slytherin? It's not all that bad…are you sure? Well if not Slytherin…then…I think you should go to….GRYFFINDOR!"

A burst of applause and shouts erupted in the hall, especially from the Gryffindor table. Andy hopped off the stool and ran toward the far table.

"Well if everything is in order…Let the feast begin!" said Dumbledore. At that command, the four house tables magically filled with meats, roasted potatoes, corn, tarts, and other treats.

"Hey Andy! Congratulations!" said Kelly as Andy took the empty seat next to Lily.

"Thanks! Urgh…I thought I was going to be up there forever," said Andy as she settled herself and began to dish out some potatoes.

"See, it wasn't that bad now, was it?" said Lily.

"No, not really," said Andy. As the four friends continued to eat and chit chat, Andy suddenly had the feeling that she was being watched. She looked down the table and saw two boys, both with dark hair looking at her. The one with longer hair quickly turned away when he saw Andy look at him. _'He's kinda cute'_

"Hey Lil, who's that guy down there? The one with the long hair," said Andy.

"Oh, that's Sirius Black. And the one he's talking to is James Potter," said Lily with slight disgust in her voice.

"The guys you were telling me about on the train," said Andy finally able to put a name to face.

"Yep, the notorious Frick and Frack," said Lily.

"Little prats. It's only a matter of time before they get tired of pranking the Slytherins and move on to us," said Felicia as she glared down the table. "But we'll be ready for them."

"They don't really look that harmful," said Andy not totally convinced that the group of boys down the table are really as bad as they are being described.

"Looks can be deceiving," said Felicia.

"I still can't believe they got away with what they did last year," said Kelly.

"Oh, don't tell me you lot are still at it about the four amigos," said a voice from behind Lily and Andy. Standing behind them was a fifth year student with dark brown hair and gray eyes.

"Hey Andromeda," said three out of the four.

"Don't you gals realize by now that those four are here to stay until they graduate," said Andromeda.

"Come on now. After what they did to us. They deserve to have their sorry behinds kicked out permanently," stated Felicia.

Andromeda rolled her eyes at the three girls and turned her attention to Andy. "Hi, I'm Andromeda, by the way. Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Thanks, I'm Andy," she said as she shook the tall brown haired girl before her. She then turned her attention back to her new friends as Andromeda took a seat next to her. "What did they do to you guys anyway that was to bad?"

"I'd rather not say," said Kelly. "The memory of it still hurts," she added with a shutter.

"Oh would you get off it. It wasn't that bad," said Andromeda as she helped herself to some pumpkin juice.

"The reason why we _'dislike'_ them so much is because they decided to play a little trick on us," said Lily. She then looked down the table and glared at the four boys throwing food at each other.

"Well that doesn't sound so bad," said Andy not seeing the whole point.

"Not if a bucket of slime carried by a few owls is dumped on you," said Felicia.

"That's it?" said Andy, excepting something more terrible until…

"The slime turned our skin blue and hair neon green," added Felicia. At that exact moment, Andy took a sip from her goblet and then choked on a mouth full of pumpkin juice as she tried to fight a laugh.

"And you can't just let it go, can you?" said Andromeda with a grin as she too tried to suppress a laugh.

"You're kidding, right?" giggled Andy.

"No," said all three in unison.

"You mean those four down there, created a potion to turn your skin and hair a different color?" said Andy to make sure she heard them right. The three of them simply nodded, which caused Andy to burst out laughing. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get the mental picture of her new friends looking like those muggles at football games covered in body paint, out of her mind.

"It's not funny," said Kelly firmly.

"I'm sorry… it's just…that…" gasped Andy through her laughing spell.

"What are you talking about? Of course it is!" laughed Andromeda. "Besides you didn't tell her the best part."

"There's more?" said Andy through her laugh.

"They also charmed the bathroom doors so we couldn't go and wash it off," said Lily. "And, they…purposefully staged it so that we couldn't go and change until after practically the whole school saw us." The memory of that day still brought Lily's temper to a boil just thinking about it. As much as Andy tried to be sympathetic to her new friends, she couldn't help but laugh at the thought of it, and apparently neither could Andromeda.

"Oh, sod off Romi, would ya? The only reason why you even defended them is because one of them happens to be a relative," said an irritated Felicia.

"Hey, I never said that what my cousin Sirius and his friends did was right. I just said that you gals should just let it go. I mean come on it was last year, and you have to admit that it was a good prank…" said Andromeda, but seeing the look on the three girls faces she quickly changed her mind. "…or not. Anyways, Professor McGonagall gave them their punishments already and they served them out."

"I don't think that a week's detention constitutes as punishment," said Lily hotly.

"Whatever," said Andromeda. Seeing that it was a loss cause to try to reason with the girls, she decided to go and visit her other fellow Gryffindors. "Well then, I guess I should go an catch up with some of my other friends. I'll talk to you guys later. It was nice to meet you, Andy."

"Same here," said Andy.

"See ya later," said Andromeda as she walked down to the other end of the table and sat with some of the other Gryffindors from her year.

After a few minutes, the three girls were still beaming red at the memory of what happened the pervious year.

"Look, I'm sorry for laughing at you. I didn't mean it. But the…" said Andy as she tried to stifle another laugh.

"Ah it's okay. I guess from an outside perspective it was funny," said Kelly.

"Yeah, I mean if it had been someone else, I'd probably…would have had a laugh," said Lily as she looked down at her now empty plate. "Anyway, it's like Andromeda said, we should let it go."

"Lily are you nuts! What about all that p…" said Felicia, but was interrupted when Dumbledore rose from his seat and dismissed the students to their dormitories. With that the four girls got up and followed the rest of the school out of the Great Hall. Lily looked over at her friend and mouthed the words with an evil grin, "Don't worry. It's still on."

They met up with Karen in the entrance hall and talked for a little bit before the Hufflepuffs turned and headed for their dormitories. After climbing a few staircases, and passing through a few secret passages, the perfects led the Gryffindors to the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Mandrake." the prefect said, and with that the portrait opened up and everyone climbed through into the common room of Gryffindor tower. All the students went to their respective rooms. Lily, Felicia, Kelly, and Andy climbed the steps of the girl's dorm until they came to their room, which had a gold plaque that read 'SECOND YEARS'. Inside they found that their things had been brought up and each one was at the foot of one of the four, four-post beds. Full from dinner and exhausted from the trip, the four girls changed into their pajamas, climbed into bed, and fell asleep instantly. Tomorrow would bring new class…and some interesting surprises.

* * *

**A/N:** Oooh… a cliff hanger (sort of). Thank you for all the reviews that I received. I'm glad to hear that people like this story so far. All forms of criticism are welcome. (hey how else am I going to know if I'm doing a good job or not) Keep the reviews and stay tuned. Until next… 

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, except this story and the characters I made up. The rest of it is all J.K. Rowling. That's why she has all the dough and I don't.


	3. Finding a Worthy Victim

****

Days in Avalon

Chapter Three: Finding a Worthy Victim

"Now today class, we will be turning animals into water goblets," said Professor McGonagall. "Pay attention Mr. Potter! I don't want to have to explain this again. That goes for you too Mr. Black." The two friends had been sitting in the back of the classroom along with Remus and Peter coming up with the perfect major prank of the school year. The only problem was that they couldn't think of anyone to play it on.

"Yes, professor," they both said monotony.

"In order to complete the transformation successfully, you need to concentrate. Like so, one…two…three… 'Feraverto'. said Professor McGonagall. With that, the hamster that she had on her desk transformed into a clean crystal goblet. The class of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, gasped in awe as they watched their professor make the transformation effortlessly.

"All right now, who would like to try?" said McGonagall. She looked around the classroom and her eyes fell upon the small group of girls that sat near the front of the classroom. "Ahh, Ms. Figg."

Felicia looked as if she wanted to fall through the floor, than have to perform the transformation before McGonagall.

"On the count of three like I showed you," said McGonagall as she stood in front of the table that sat Felicia and Karen. Behind them were Lily and Andy, with Karen across the row from Andy.

"Yes professor," said Felicia quietly. She took out her wand and tapped the bird in front of her three times and cried the incantation. But instead of transforming the bird completely, the goblet that was before her was still black and had the hint of a beak.

"You need to concentrate more Ms. Figg. I'll except you to practice this and be able to perform it again for me next class," said McGonagall in her usual stern tone.

"Yes professor."

"Very well, now who's next? Yes, Mr. Black," said McGonagall.

"I'd like to have a go at it, professor," said Sirius in a cheerful tone. Felicia turned around and just glared at Sirius.

"Very well," said McGonagall. With that Sirius successfully turned his toad into a water goblet and transformed it back without and problem at all. "Very good, Mr. Black. Five points to Gryffindor." Sirius glanced over at Felicia and the rest of the girls and simply smiled. He then whispered something that sounded like 'Beginners luck'.

At the end of Transfiguration, Felicia stormed out of the classroom and headed off toward their next class. Her four friends had to practically run in order to catch up with her.

"Who does that guy think he is? 'Beginners luck my foot. Oh, why do we have to have classes with them anyway?" shouted Felicia.

"Ummm…because that's the way it's set up this year. Also he is a member of your house," said Karen. Felicia just gave Karen a look and went on complaining.

"You really don't like that guy do you?" said Andy hoping that her comment wouldn't send Felicia into another rage.

"Nope, not since I was about four," said Felicia as she tried to gather herself again. "That little git has been playing jokes and showing off to everyone ever since he was born."

"Okay, no more talking to Felicia for awhile." said Kelly.

"Oh, give it a rest Felicia. We already know you don't like the guy," said Karen. "Look this is my stop. I've got to get to History of Magic with Binns. Have fun with the Slytherins."

"Have a good nap," said Kelly as she watched her friend walk down the corridor to the History of Magic classroom. Felicia continued to complain about how Sirius is such a show off, while Lily, Andy, and Kelly ignored her and carried on their own conversation until they reached their next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts. The four friends took the first couple of seats in the front of the classroom to Andy's surprise. As she looked around the classroom, it seemed to her that most of the girls in the class were sitting closer to the front, while the boys took their seats in the back. _'Wonder why that is,' _she thought to herself. A couple of minutes after the bell rang, she got her answer. Practically all of the females in the room gasped as their handsome Puerto Rican professor walked in.

"Sorry I'm late. Had a little run in with our resident poltergeist," said Professor Corinthos. All of the girls couldn't help but smile and giggle as their professor gave them his cute little smile that showed off his dimples. (A/N: This might sound familiar, but trust me this guy is nothing like Lockhart.)

"Oh, _please_," groaned James. "I can't believe, the way they are acting."

"Hey, at least this professor knows what he's teaching. Unlike that guy they had at the beginning of the last year. Now he was a nightmare," said Remus.

"Yeah, it's too bad that guy couldn't take a joke," said Sirius with a sly grin.

"All right, today class we will be discussing some of the most vial creatures in the world. These creatures are highly dangerous, but are useful to fight the dark arts. Now can anyone tell me what a Basilisk is?" said Professor Corinthos.

Everyone looked around to see who actually had there hands up, but had a pretty good idea of which two would have their hands up. Sure enough, most of the students saw that Severus Snape of Slytherin had his hand up. But what took them all by surprise was that the little red head in the front kept her hand down for one.

"Yes, Mr. Snape?" said Professor Corinthos.

"It's a deadly snake also known as the king of serpents," said Severus. He glanced over to where James and Sirius were sitting and gave them both an evil smile. James just glared back at his archenemy with pure hatred in his hazel eyes.

"Correct. Five point to Slytherin. Now I wonder if you could tell me why the Basilisk is so deadly and what it could be used for?"

"It can be used as a form of a guard and it's deadly because of its poisonous fangs, which will kill anyone in a matter of minutes," said Severus assertively.

"Hmm…very good but why else is it dangerous?" asked Professor Corinthos. Those words never sounded sweeter to James, because from the look on Severus's face, he had no clue what else to say. Snape was practically hitting his head trying to remember what else made a Basilisk so dangerous. Suddenly a timid hand came from the direction of Lily's table. The only thing was, it wasn't Lily's hand up but…

"Yes, Ms…Starmenter, it is?" said Professor Corinthos.

"A Basilisk is also dangerous because of its eyes. Anyone who looks straight into the eyes of a Basilisk with fall dead right on the spot. The poison from its fangs can also be used to counteract most antidotes, and can be used as a power boost for some protection spells," said Andy. Everyone looked at the new Gryffindor with amazement, including some of the Slytherins. But one just glared at her stewing in his own resentment toward her.

"Very good, Ms. Starmenter. Ten points to Gryffindor. Like Ms. Starmenter just said, a Basilisk's eyes have the power…" said Professor Corinthos as he continued to explain about what a Basilisk looks like, as well as a number of other creatures such as Kappas, Grindylows, Nundus, and Lethifolds. When the bell finally ran at the end of the double class, everyone quickly gathered their things and headed out the door.

"That was great! Did you see the look on Snape's face?" giggled Felicia as her and her friends left the classroom.

"Yeah, I think that was the first time he actually stayed quite during an entire Defense class without someone placing a silencing charm on him," said Kelly.

"How did you know all that stuff?" asked Lily in astonishment to her friend at her right.

"Well, I kinda learned some of it last year at my old school," said Andy slightly worried that her new friends might think of her as some type of bookworm.

"Really?" said Lily slightly excited. See Lily's reaction to her statement, Andy couldn't help but smile a little bit.

"Yeah, my last Dark Arts teacher was sort of obsessed with Basilisks and other creatures like that."

"Sounds like a dark wizard if you ask me," said Felicia as they rounded the corner and entered into the courtyard for some air.

"Nah, he wanted to try and find a way that would make them good and useful," said Andy.

"Sounds like the perfect friend for Hagrid, if you ask me," said Kelly with a giggle. Felicia just rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but laugh a little.

"What do we have next?" said Andy.

"Lunch, then we head off for Herbology with Hufflepuff, and then History of Magic with Slytherin," said Lily.

"Sound cool. Why don't I meet you gals in the Great Hall for lunch," said Andy.

"Where are you going?" said Kelly.

"I was just going to go and drop off these books in the common room first," said Andy.

"Do you want one of us to go with you?" said Felicia.

"Nah, It's o.k."

"You sure?" said Lily. "Because we'd be more than happy too."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Besides I can't always be around you gals now, can I? I mean I will have to use the bathroom sometime by myself you

know."

"Oh," said the three girls before her slightly hurt.

"I'm kidding. I just want to see if I can get to the common room from here by myself. You know, just doing a little exploring," said Andy hoping that this would make her new friends feel better.

"Oh, that's fine," said Lily, who could understand the need to explore a magical castle by oneself. But from the look of her other two friends, they weren't totally convinced that this was a good idea.

"Hey if I get loss, I'll send an owl to you, or I'll ask one of the paintings or ghosts how to get back to the Great Hall, okay?" said Andy as she gave her two friends a sad puppy dog look. Kelly, Felicia, and Lily couldn't help but laugh at their friend's pathetic looking face.

"Yeah sure, whatever," said Felicia with a smirk.

"Hey could you drop this off too?" said Lily as she pulled out a copy of _Hogwarts: A History_.

"What do I look like, your maid?" said Andy jokingly. At that remark, Lily gave Andy the same pathetic look she just performed a moment ago. "Oh, all right!" laughed Andy as she took the book from Lily.

"Thanks! Oh, and don't mind those two, they were like that towards me last year." whispered Lily so that Kelly and Felicia wouldn't hear.

"Okay, sure. See ya in a little bit….hopefully." said Andy as she turned and made her way across the courtyard. _'Geez, you'd think that they were my mother or something,' _thought Andy with a smirk on her face. When she was about half way across the courtyard, she decided to take a quick look at the book Lily gave to her. As she was flipping through the pages, she came across and interesting story about Godric Gryffindor when suddenly…

"Ow!… Oh I'm sorry," said Andy as she got up and dusted herself off. Some of the books that were in her bag had now fallen out and laid on the ground, including the book she was just reading.

"Hey watch where you're going," said the boy she accidentally walked into coolly. He got up, and brushed away some of his greasy hair to reveal himself to be Severus Snape.

"I said I was sorry. No need to go all postal or anything," said Andy with her eyebrows raised as she bent down to pick up some of her books.

"Hey, I know you. You're that new girl aren't you?" said Severus with a hint of disgust in his voice that didn't go unnoticed by Andy.

"The name's Andy, if you don't mind," replied Andy in the same tone as she received.

"You're the one that showed me off in class," said Snape in an outraged tone. At that remark, Andy stood up and found that four other Slytherins now surrounded Snape. Two of them were bulky boys that looked like trolls, the third was a tall fourth year boy with brown hair, and the fourth was a fourth year girl with shoulder length black hair.

"All I did was answer a question that you couldn't answer. What's the big deal about that?" said Andy not seeing the need for all this publicity over a stupid little thing like this.

"The big deal is that _you _shouldn't have done that," said Snape coolly.

"Excuse me?" said Andy taken back the boy's response.

"Look, I get that you're new here. So I'll let it go this time," said Snape like he was doing a favor for her.

"Let what go?"

"Your own stupidity," stated Severus in a matter of fact tone.

"My _what_?" said Andy. '_I can't believe that this guy is trying to pick a fight over a _stupid question_! Man is he messing with the wrong witch_,' Andy thought as she tried to contain the anger that was rising up fast.

"Your stup…"

"Yeah, I heard you the first time. It was a rhetorical question." stated Andy with pure disgust her voice.

"Then you'll understand when I say that no know the dark arts like I do. So you best not get in my way," said Snape as he closed in on

Andy.

"Is that suppose to be a threat," said Andy as she noticed that there was now a pretty large gathering around the two of them.

"What do you think?" asked Snape.

"Well if you ask me, it sounds like one of us has a crush on Professor Corinthos, and I'm not talking about myself," said Andy with a smirk. Half of the people around them broke out in "Ooooh"s and the other half broke out laughing. Seeing the reaction on Severus's face was slightly enjoyable to Andy. He eyes suddenly widened and his mouth opened a bit in shock.

"Oh what's the matter? Can't take a joke?" giggled Andy. Suddenly an evil grin broke out on Snape's face.

"Oooh no, I can take a joke. But can you?" said Snape.

__

At that exact moment…..

"Geez I can't believe how much homework we have all ready," said Sirius. "and it's only the first day!"

"Well what did you expect from old McGonagall? That old cat _loves _to give out homework," said James as the four friends made their way to the courtyard.

"Yeah, no kidding," said Sirius as he brushed some of his hair out of his eyes.

"So what do guys want to do this weekend, huh?" said Peter as he tried to catch up with his friends.

"Well what ever you guys plan, count me out," said Remus who was looking paler than the night before.

"Why not?" said Sirius.

"You feeling all right there Rem?" said James.

"Yeah, I'm fine its just…um…I have to …go and see my mother. Yeah I got an owl today from my father saying that she isn't feeling well," said Remus.

"But we just got here!" said Sirius slightly flabbergasted.

"Yeah, well….what are you going to do. Anyway…hey Peter what new wizard card did you get?" said Remus eager to change the subject. As the four friends entered the courtyard, James pulled Sirius aside for a bit.

"Hey Sir, have you noticed that Rem always seems to be leaving all the time?" said James.

"Yeah, he's always coming up with some excuse like his mom or grandmother, or something like that," said Sirius as he glanced over to where Remus and Peter were walking too. "You think he's hiding something?"

"Yeah I do, but what? What could be so important that he has to hide it from us?" said James as he stared at his friend. "Let's head back, before he suspects something," he added after he finally gave up trying to figure out what Remus could be hiding….for now.

The two mates joined their other friends as they made their way to lunch. When they got half way across the courtyard, they noticed a cluster of students gathered around.

"Wonder what's that all about?" said Remus.

"Oh what's the matter? Can't take a joke?" giggled Andy. Suddenly an evil grin broke out on Snape's face.

"Oooh no, I can take a joke. But can you?" said Snape. "Let's just see how well you know how to defend yourself. _Tarantallegra!"_ he cried. Suddenly Andy's feet couldn't stop moving, which caused her to fall flat on her face. James and Sirius both looked at each other quickly and then ran over to where the group was.

"Hey!" cried Sirius.

"Back off Snivellus!" yelled James as he quickly pulled out his wand.

"We'll if it isn't Potter and Black. Come to have another go, eh?" said Snape with pure hatred in his eyes.

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you, Snivelly" said James coldly.

"Or you'll do what?" said a cold voice. Standing behind Snape, was a forth year boy with long bleached blond hair, known as Lucius Malfoy.

"Oh look James, if it isn't Snivellus's keeper. Come to protect your little lap dog, eh Malfoy?" said Sirius with some amusement in his voice. Andy was still moving around until Remus came up and muttered the counter curse and helped her to her feet.

"Thanks," she breathed.

"Not a problem," said Remus slightly surprised by the fire that was now in her eyes.

"Hardly," said Malfoy as he glanced down at Snape. "No, I've just come to see how my little friend here was doing."

"It's nothing I can't handle. I'm just showing the mudblood here a thing or two about Defense Against the Dark Arts." said Snape as he glared at Andy. Andy wasn't as shocked as most of the people there. Sure she knew what the word 'mudblood' meant, but instead of taking offense to it, she merely scoffed at it.

"Is that the best you can do? Come up with childish insults?" said Andy.

"Oh so you want more. Fine then," said Snape as he raised his wand to cast another spell.

"Expelliarmus!" cried James causing Snape's wand to be thrown into the air. At that exact moment, Malfoy pulled out his wand, but was disarmed by Sirius.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!" yelled Professor McGonagall as she came running toward the crowd. "Potter! Snape! Black! Malfoy! I should have known. It's not even lunchtime yet, and you four are all ready dueling in the courtyards! And _you_ Mr. Malfoy should know better being a perfect and all. As for you two," said McGonagall as she reared her attack on the two Gryffindors. "never in all my years as a professor have two Gryffindors caused so much trouble!"

"But professor…" said Sirius.

"It wasn't our fault! They start…" said James.

"Silence both of you! I've had it! You two are the most irresponsible…" said McGonagall.

"It wasn't their fault!" cried Andy in a rage that took everyone, including McGonagall by surprise.

"Ms. Starmenter?"

"It wasn't their fault, Professor," said Andy calmly. "They didn't start the duel. It was Mr…Snape," she said pointing to Severus not quite sure she had the right name.

"Really, now?" said McGonagall.

"Yes. See I was heading back to the common room, when I accidentally ran into Mr. Snape here. I apologized to him, but then we got to talking about what happened in our last class, and one thing lead to another, and _he_ attacked _me_ first," said Andy.

"Is this true?" said McGonagall to Snape who looked directly at his shoes, muttering something under his breath. Several students who were standing around, nodded their heads eagerly not wanting to get blasted by McGonagall's rage.

"If it hadn't been for Misters…Potter and…Black, I'm not sure what would have happened. They simply came and tried to help me while I was…um…dancing on the ground. Then Mr. Snape attempted to hex Mr. Potter" she said looking at him hoping she got his name right, to which he nodded, "and he was just trying to defend himself." said Andy.

"It that true Potter?" said McGonagall.

"Yes, professor." said James quickly.

"And what about Mr. Black?" said McGonagall turning her attention back to Andy.

"Well, Mr. Black here saw that Mr. M-Malfoy was about to attack Mr. Potter, and he disarmed him before Mr. Malfoy had the chance," stated Andy.

"Is that true Black?" said McGonagall. Sirius nodded vigorously along with several other students. "Very well then, since you two didn't cause the fight then I won't give you detentions. But I will take five points away from both of you for not calling a teacher. As for you two," she said as she turned her toward Severus and Malfoy. "You two come with me right now!" With that the two Slytherins followed McGonagall to her office, but as Snape passed Andy he hissed "I get you yet!" to her. Seeing that all the excitement was now over, all of the students decided to head to lunch. Andy bent down and began to pick up some of her books again. As she was picking them up, a hand came into her view.

"Here, let me help with that," said James as he helped pick up some of Andy's books and put them back into her bag for her. "Here you go," he said as he handed over the last book to her and smiled.

"Thanks," replied Andy, and couldn't help but smile back at the dark haired, hazel-eyed boy before her.

"Sorry about him. We tried to turn him into a nice throw pillow last year, but it didn't quite pan out," said James. This caused Andy to giggle a little bit. "I'm James Pott…" he started as he extended his right hand.

"Potter. Yeah I kinda knew that. I'm Andy, by the way." stated Andy with a smile as she shook James's hand.

"Really now? Are you a Seer?" said James who was slightly amazed.

"Nope. A couple of my friends told me about you," said Andy.

"All good things I hope."

"Well if you count them cursing your name every five minutes a good thing, then yeah," stated Andy. James looked her with some confusion. "I'm a friend of Lily, Felicia, Kelly, and Karen."

"Ah, that explains it then," said James as Remus cleared his throat loudly to get James's attention. "Oh, sorry about that mates. Uh Andy these are some of my friends. This is…"

"Wait let me guess….Remus…Lupin, right?" she said to Remus.

"Uh,…yeah that's right. How did you…" said Remus.

"Evans, mate." said James from behind Andy.

"Ahh…right." said Remus as he shook Andy's hand.

"So, then this must be…Peter," said Andy as she looked at Peter who had suddenly gone very red. All he mange to do was make a forceful giggle and smile to her as he shook her hand. She then looked over to where Sirius was standing.

"Then that must mean your…" said Andy.

"Simply in awe by the most lovely girl I've ever laid eyes upon," said Sirius as he took a hold of Andy's hand and kissed it. At this over acted jester, all three of Sirius's friends rolled their eyes and muttered something along the lines of 'Oh brother' and 'Give me a break'.

"Oh really now," said Andy with her eyes raised.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Has anyone ever told you that you look like an angel that just fell out of the heavens," said Sirius smoothly.

"No, you're definitely the first," said Andy. _'I'm going to have fun with this.' _she thought.

"Well, then men must be fools for not you that everyday of your life," stated Sirius.

"You most definitely are Sirius Black," grinned Andy.

"Guilty as charged and at your service my lady," said Sirius as he took a bow. "So tell me am I that famous, yet?"

"Possibly. But I just have to ask you this one question," said Andy with a sad puppy eyed look and a small grin.

"Ask away, my dear," said Sirius with a sly grin.

"Tell me, do you actually mean all that hog wash you just spewed out or do I have throw you in the lake in order for you to calm down," said Andy. Sirius's sly grin had suddenly turned into a sour look as he listened to what Andy just told him. All three of his friends couldn't help but laugh their friends reaction, along with Andy.

"Excuse me?" said Sirius taken back.

"Felicia warned me about you. Along with some other colorful descriptions of you," laughed Andy.

"Ah, leave to good old Felicia to chase yet another girl away from me," said Sirius in an indignant tone.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad," giggled Andy.

"Yes it was," laughed Remus and James.

"Shut up you two. So tell me what else did Ms. Figg and the others tell you about me," said Sirius.

"Ah, can't tell. Sworn to secrecy," said Andy as she pretended to lock up her lips.

"Story of my life," moped a hurt Sirius, which caused Andy to giggle even more.

"Why don't we start over. Andy Starmenter," said Andy as she extended her right hand to Sirius.

Sirius slightly snorted and rolled his eyes before he extended his hand to Andy.

"Sirius Black. Ouch," said Sirius as he received a static shock from Andy. "Guess someone doesn't know how to control her own power."

"It's called static electricity, not magic." scoffed Andy.

"Whatever, but I guess I found my nickname for you, Sparky." said Sirius, which caused Andy to roll her eyes.

"Where were you heading to?" asked Peter as turned even more burgundy.

"The common room. I was going to drop off these books before lunch, until I ran into Snape," said Andy.

"Don't worry about him. We'll deal with him later," said James proudly.

"No, it's okay. I don't want you guys to get into trouble on my behalf. I can deal with snotty little brats like him," said Andy with a smirk.

"You sure about tha…" stated Sirius but was interrupted by Hufflepuff running toward them.

"Andy! Andy are you all right? I just heard what happened," cried Karen as she ran toward the small group of Gryffindors. When she saw who Andy was talking too, Karen stopped dead in her tracks in shock. "What are _you _guys doing here?"

"Well hello to you too Miss Crane," said James with a smirk.

"We were just having a chat with Andy here," said Remus who had suddenly turned a pale pink.

"Yeah, these guys were just helping me with Snape and all. I'm fine by the way," said Andy.

"Do want us to walk up with to the common room? We were just heading that way anyway," said James.

"Yea…er- No. No that's okay. I think I'll just head off to lunch now," said Andy who saw Karen shacking her head to make Andy change her mind.

"You sure about that? It not a problem," said Sirius.

"Yeah I'm sure. I'm getting kinda hunger anyways," said Andy who gave Karen an unsure look.

"All right. But if you change your mind," said James.

"She said no so leave it at that Potter! Come on Andy," said Karen as she grabbed Andy's hand and began to pull her away from the pranksters.

"See you guys later!" called Andy as she was being pulled away.

"Bye!" cried James, Remus and Peter.

"See ya later, Sparky!" called out Sirius. "That was a little weird," he said to his friends.

"Well what do you expect? After what you guys did to the fab four last year, I wouldn't have been surprised if Karen called for a broom to high tail Andy away from you," said Remus.

"If I'm not mistaken, you are just as guilty as we are, Remus," said James in a matter-of-fact tone. Remus opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it.

Throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening, Lily, Karen, Kelly, and Felicia wouldn't leave Andy's side for a minute. They couldn't believe what their friend told them about the 'Prank Pack'.

"They seemed pretty nice too me. Although I think Sirius has read a few too many romance novels, if you ask me. But other than that they were really friendly," said Andy as she dished out some green beans at dinner.

"You're kidding right?" said Felicia in shock.

"Potter and Black, were actually nice?" said Kelly in amazement.

"Guys lay off her all right." said Lily not looking up from the book she was reading.

"What's up with you Lily," said Felicia. "Why aren't you as surprised like the rest of us here?"

"Why should I be?"

"Because our friend here had a close encounter with the spawn of Lucifer," said Kelly as if were obvious. "You know, our enemies?"

"Exactly! _Our _enemies! Andy here hasn't been a victim like us, so right now she's safe from them." said Lily.

The next day, as James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter came down the stairs for breakfast, they witness Andy accidentally walking into Snape and Malfoy again. Severus made to grab his wand and cast another hex on Andy, but saw his archenemies from the corner of his eye and thought better of the situation.

"Watch were you're going mudblood," said Snape coldly.

"You first," responded Andy in the same tone. With that everyone made their way to their respective tables for breakfast.

"All right there Andy," said James as he sat down near Andy.

"Yeah. Nothing that I can't handle," replied Andy with a smirk and a wink.

"All right there mate, so we got everything set up. All we need now is the perfect person," said Remus.

"So who's it going to be?" said Peter fervently.

"Don't have a clue? What about Malfoy and Snape?" said Sirius.

"Nah, they'll be ready for something like that, especially after what happened yesterday," said James.

"Urgh, man this is hard," grunted a frustrated Sirius.

"Who we need is someone totally unpredictable. Someone who will have no clue what's going on," said James as he pondered.

"I don't think it's polite to pick on poor Peter here like that. After all he did help a little," said Remus jokingly. Peter gave his friend a look before he hit him the arm for his remark

"Yeah, but they got to be able to take a joke," said Sirius not taking note to what was going on across the table from him.

"And just where do you expect to find such a person," said Remus with an eyebrow raised. Suddenly as if on cue…

"WHAT THE…?" cried a voice across the hall. It was coming from the Slytherin table. Even from across the hall, the four friends could

see what was happening, and couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

Over at the Slytherin table Malfoy and Snape were both scratching themselves profusely on their arms, and legs. Their skin was braking out into hives. But as they popped, a thick pea soup green oozed out of the sores, covering their skin and staining it. All of a sudden little bits of wood branches started to sprout out of their skin and hair. Both of the Slytherins, crying in pain, fear, and embarrassment, ran out of the hall to the hospital wing with the entire hall laughing at them.

"Hey that was great! Why didn't you tell us you guys were going to do that?" laughed Remus as he grabbed his sides.

"It wasn't me? James?" said Sirius.

"Don't look at me. Rem?" said James with a quizzical look.

"Wasn't me? Pete?" said Remus. Peter just shook and looked at his friends with a bewildered face.

"Well if Sirius didn't do it, and Remus didn't do, and Peter didn't do it, and I didn't do it….then who did?" said James in a confused tone.

"Maybe those guys just can't handle a little special itching power?" said Andy with a smirk. All four of the boys looked at the blond haired witch sitting next to them in amazement. Seeing the looks on their faces brought a sense of satisfaction to her.

"See you guys later," said Andy as she got up and left the Great Hall to do some exploring before class.

"Hey James are you thinking what I'm thing?" said Sirius as he turned toward his best friend with an evil smirk on his face.

"I think so. I think we just found a worthy victim," replied James with same evil smirk on his face.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except my ideas and the characters I made up. Everything else belongs to the great J.K. 'Jo' Rowling.


	4. Declaration of War

Days in Avalon

Chapter Four: Declaration of War

"I still can't believe them. Pulling a prank like that!" said Lily as she sat down next to Felicia in the library.

"Well, you got to admit, it was pretty good," said Felicia as she rummaged through her bag looking for her Transfiguration book.

"Yeah, I heard Wally Johnson say that by the time they reached the hospital wing, they almost looked completely like trees," said Kelly looking for an excuse to not pay attention to her homework.

"Who looked like trees?" came a voice from behind were Kelly and Karen were sitting.

"Oh, hey Andy!" said Lily as she looked up from her book. "We were just talking about what we heard happen this morning at breakfast."

"I still can't believe we missed it," said Felicia dejectedly.

"You guys didn't miss much," said Andy as she walked around the table and took the empty seat next to Lily.

"Wait…you were there?" said Karen with a skeptical eye.

"Yeah," responded the blond witch as she took out her Transfiguration essay and began to finish it off.

"So you saw everything?" said Kelly who was becoming very curious.

"Pretty much," said Andy not really caring about what happen. She continued to work on her essay a little more before she noticed that her four friends were now staring at her with anticipation. "What?" she asked her eyebrow raised.

"Well?" said Kelly.

"Well what?" responded Andy not seeing what they were all curious about.

"The prank!" said all four at once.

"What about it?" said Andy still oblivious to what her friends were trying to get at.

"How did they do?" said Felicia with excitement in her eyes.

"Yeah, come on Andy. You must have seen them do it," said Karen.

"Who are you guys talking about?" said Andy at a total loss.

"The 'Prank Pack'!" said all four in unison.

"You know, the guys you were talking to yesterday?" said Kelly to Andy as if she had forgotten.

"Yeah what about them?"

"So which one did it?" said Karen.

"I bet it was Black, with some help from Remus," said Felicia.

"No that whole prank was Potter's doing," said Lily. "Knowing that toerag, he probably sent them an owl with some sort of potion on the envelope or something like that," she added as she went back to her essay.

"Who said that it was them?" said Andy with an evil glint in her eye that Lily happened to catch out of the corner of her eye. She looked up at her friend who raised her eye brows at Lily gave her a little smirk before she went back to her homework. Lily gazed at her with interest. _'What in the name of Merlin is she talking about?' _thought Lily.

"Well who else could have done it?" said Kelly.

"Wait a second… Last night you were acting kinda weird," said Lily as she remembered the events from the pervious night.

"What do you mean?" inquired Felicia directing all her attention, along with Karen and Kelly, to what Lily was saying.

"She was making something in her cauldron, and she had this jar of some sort of powder… It was you wasn't it?" said Lily as her green eyes widened in shock and admiration. Andy put her quill down and turned to look at her friend. Lily looked directly into her eyes and saw, along with the expression on her face, that it was true. "You…little…witch."

"Thanks! I assume that's a compliment?" said Andy with a smirk.

"Whoa, you mean it was Andy who did that?" said Kelly.

"How?" said Karen and Felicia at the same time.

"It was kinda easy really," said Andy as she smiled to herself for an excellent job well done. "Before I left home my brother put some itching powder in my trunk as a joke. So I just combined the powder with some tree bark, add a little boil potion, a few chants, and…presto! Instant itchy tree-turning powder."

The three Gryffindors and their Hufflepuff friend couldn't believe their ears. All the four friends could do was just stare in admiration toward their newly acquired friend.

"And the color changing?" asked Karen eagerly.

"My own special blend," said Andy simply not wanting to indulge them into all her little secrets. "Hey you want to hear something really funny though," she added giggling. "Right now the nurse is giving them both all these potions and stuff…, when…all she really needs to do…is just…is just give them some ice cream and them to take a bath," she said while trying to contain her laughter which spilled out when she was finished.

"So you mean they're talking things that won't stop the effects?" said Lily not really believing her ears.

"Yep," laughed Andy. Felicia, Karen, and Kelly couldn't help but join in on Andy's laughing spell. The four girls were laughing so loud at one point that Madam Pince almost had to throw them out of the library. But what took Andy kinda by surprise was that Lily wasn't joining in on her little joke.

"What's wrong Lil?"

"You really shouldn't have done that?" said Lily sharply.

"What?" said Andy with a laugh as though her friend was telling a joke.

"You heard me. Andy, you really shouldn't have done that," said Lily as she went back to her homework.

"After what those little imps did to me? They deserved what they got…maybe even more," said Andy in her defense. She couldn't believe that Lily wasn't as happy as the others were.

"But you could get into trouble," said Lily in a distress tone. She didn't want Andy to fall into a bad pattern like some other people from Gryffindor.

"I won't. The powder is untraceable. Besides, why would anyone think I did it?" said Andy in a matter of fact tone.

"She's got a point there Lil. No one would expect that type of a gag to come from a new student," said Felicia.

"Yeah, they would expect it to come from the 'Prank Pack'," added Kelly.

"Well she could at least tell Madam Pomfrey the cure," said Lily as she turned back to Andy.

"I will…eventually," said Andy with an evil grin.

"Andy if you don't go and tell her the cure I'll do it my self," said Lily in a business like tone.

"Fine go ahead," said Andy as she went back to her essay.

"And I'll tell her who did it too," added Lily. Everyone sitting at the table stopped and just stared from Lily to Andy and back again. Andy dropped her quill again and looked at Lily straight in the eyes.

"You'd rat me out?" said Andy in a disbelief tone.

"If you don't go to the hospital wing and tell Madam Pomfrey now, then yes I will," said Lily who continued to stare at Andy without even blinking.

"Come on Lily, it was just a joke. Let her enjoy herself for a little bit longer," said Kelly not liking the look on both of their faces. Karen, Kelly, and Felicia knew that Lily was just looking out for their new friend. But they weren't so sure as to how Andy would take Lily's concern, for she can come out a bit bossy at times, and this is defiantly one of those times.

Andy and Lily continued to stare each other down daring the other to crack. Until finally…

"Oh, all right! I'll go and tell the cure," grunted a frustrated Andy. With that she packed up her things and left the library and made her way to the hospital wing…slowly.

"You know Lily, you could have gone easy on her a bit," said Felicia after a couple of minutes had gone by.

"I guess I was a little harsh, huh? It's just that…I don't know. What she did it kinda took me by surprise a bit. I guess I never really pictured her as someone who could pull something that cruel," said Lily.

"Yeah but you got to admit, if we ever wanted to pull something on 'the pack' I'm glad she's on our side," said Karen. Felicia and Lily quickly looked at each other and each could tell that the other was thinking the same thing.

"What's going on?" said Kelly picking up on her two friends silent conversation.

"Should we Lil?" said Felicia with and eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I guess now is a good time," responded Lily.

"All right what's going on?" asked Karen who wasn't so sure if she wanted to know.

"Well… Lily and I owled each other over break and…" stated Felicia as she turned to Lily to help finish of the statement.

"we came up with a plan to get back at Potter and Black," finish Lily.

"Really? That's great!" exclaimed Karen.

"Yeah, but wait…I thought we got back at them already?" said Kelly with a state of confusion on her face.

"Well, yeah we did," stated Felicia. "But were sort of beating them to the punch this year."

"Okay…so what's the plan?" said Kelly now fully curious as to what her friends have planed. So with that Lily and Felicia told their other two friends of what they wanted to do to the four boys.

"That sounds great! Geez you gals really thought this through did you?" said Kelly in amazement.

"Yeah, but the only problem is that we don't know how to get close enough to them in order to pull it off," said Lily.

"Maybe Andy could help with that?" said Karen.

"Possibly. Hey speaking of her, shouldn't she be back by now? I mean the hospital wing isn't that far from here," said Felicia.

"Yeah now that you mentioned it she has been gone awhile," said Lily.

"Maybe she got loss. You think?" said Kelly.

"Maybe. Let's go and find her," said Lily in a business like tone. For some reason she couldn't help but shake this nagging feeling that something wasn't right…

(While all this went on…)

As Andy left the library she made her way to the hospital wing… slowly. While she walked down the many corridors and staircases to the hospital wing, she couldn't get over the way Lily reacted toward her prank on the two Slytherins.

'I can't believe her! After hearing about everything she did to James and the rest of his gang last year, she has the nerve to lecture me? Who does she think she is?' thought Andy.

When she got to the fourth floor corridor, she continued to replay the fight she had with Lily in the library until she was met with an unexpected surprise.

"Hey Sparky!" called out a voice from up a head of her that brought Andy out of her thoughts.

"Excuse me?" she replied not knowing who was talking to her until she saw none other than Sirius Black coming toward her.

"What?" said Sirius.

"What did you just call me?"

"Sparky. It's my new name for you. Remember for yesterday?" said Sirius with a goofy smile on his face that caused Andy to giggle.

"You're kidding, right?" giggled Andy.

"Nope. So what's up with you? When I saw you, you seemed like you were in a mood?" said Sirius with some concern in his voice.

"I'm not! I mean… I wasn't. It's nothing," said Andy quickly. "I…just got into a little disagreement with one of my friends is all."

"Oh? So soon?" said Sirius as he tilted his head to the side in a display that he hoped showed some concern. Andy didn't buy his act of thoughtfulness for an instant.

"What's that's suppose to mean?" snapped Andy.

"Nothing really. I just didn't really envision you getting into a fight with Evans so soon, is all I meant," stated Sirius as he placed his hands into his pants pockets to give him that boy next-door look.

"How'd you know it was Lily that I had a fight with?" said Andy with skeptical eye.

"Lucky guess," said Sirius simply.

"You were spying on me, weren't you?" said Andy not believing his story for an instant. _'What's up with this guy?'_

"Me? Nah…I only do that on special occasions." said Sirius with a sly grin.

"Whatever," sighed Andy as she started to walk passed him and continue on her way to the hospital wing.

"Where are you off too?" said Sirius not wanting her to leave just yet.

"Hospital wing," said Andy simply, not really wanting to continue her conversation with the annoying dark haired boy before her.

"Why, are you sick or something?" said Sirius with real concern in his voice.

"What is this? Twenty questions?" snapped Andy with annoyance in her voice.

"Sorry! I was just wondering. No need to go and bit off my head," said Sirius faking a slightly hurt tone that Andy bought.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I'm just figured that the two losers in there have been punished enough," stated Andy.

"So that was you!" said Sirius with a grin and his eyebrows raised in amazement.

"Jealous?" asked Andy with a mischievous grin.

"Slightly…but I'll get over it. Soooo…tell me…how'd you do it?" said Sirius eagerly.

"Now why should I with a reputation like yours?" said Andy as she crossed her arms and gave him a look.

"Just a curious mind," shrugged Sirius innocently. "Besides I'd like to know what I'm up against incase I happen to tick you off."

"Hmmm…tempting but…nah! I think I'll keep the mysterious pretense for now," said Andy with a wink.

"Well you could at least tell me how you got it on them?" said Sirius oblivious to the fact that he was now turning a slight shade of crimson.

"Why? You saw what happen," said Andy simply and with that she turned on her heels and started off on her way.

'Think fast Sirius, or else…wait!' thought Sirius until…

"Hey I thought you were heading to the Hospital wing?" said Sirius quickly.

"Yeah I am," said Andy as she stopped in her tracks and rolled her eyes. _'Geez what is it with this guy?'_

"Then why are you heading toward the Astronomy Tower?"

"Huh?" said Andy not understanding what he was talking about as she turned back towards him.

"Hospital wings back that way," he stated pointing his thumb toward the hallway to his left.

"Urgh," groaned Andy as she rolled her eyes and mentally slapped herself for getting herself lost again. "Thanks," she said as she passed by the dark haired wizard before her.

"No problem," said Sirius with a mischievous grin. With that he headed down the hallway that Andy was about to go down with a smug look on his face. After he turned the corner, he slipped behind a tapestry into a hidden passage…right next to the Hospital Wing.

'Urgh…what's up with that guy? He's so…irritating! I think I understand why Felicia doesn't like him. You'd think he was a junior Sherlock!' thought Andy as she made her way down the hallway quickly. As she turned the corner, she found that she had somehow gotten back to were all the moving staircases were.

"Uhhh, don't tell me I got lost again! Great! Just what I need now," said Andy as she gave an exasperated sigh. "Maybe I can find my way back to the library and see what went wrong. Just hope I don't have to have another argument with Lil."

As she reached the last few steps of the staircase, she suddenly felt her leg become stiff and almost fell forward. "What the…?" she started to say. Andy looked down at the stairs below her to find that she had accidentally stepped into one of the trick steps. "Ahhh…perfect!" she growled as she took hold of her leg and gave it a good tug. Unfortunately her leg wouldn't budge.

"Oy! Andy! You all right there?" called a voice from above. When she looked up, she was met with the sight of James's face leaning over the rail two floors above her.

"Ummm…not really. My ah…leg seems to be stuck," grunted Andy as she tried to pry her leg free. She could her the sound of some girls nearby. _'Great, company!' _"Think you can give me a hand there, Jay?" she called up to him.

"Sure, just turn the gargoyle on the rail and it'll let you go," said James with an evil grin that went unseen by Andy. Standing next to him out of Andy's view was Remus, Peter, and newly joined Sirius all trying to contain their laughter.

"Gargoyle?" she said to herself as she looked around at the railing. Up on top of the bottom post sat a stone gargoyle just within her reach. "This one?" she called up.

"Yeah," giggled James from above. With that Andy began to turn the small sculpture just as Lily, Felicia, Karen, and Kelly came into few.

"ANDY NO!" screamed Karen and Lily at the same time as they saw what she about to do. But alas, they were too late. For just when the words left their lips the step that held Andy's leg captive, collapsed from under her and she fell right through the step into a dark sloping tunnel.

From up above, the girls could hear the cackles of laughter. They each looked at each other and as if reading each other's minds, they ran up the stairs to where the culprits were.

"Why did you tell her to do that, Potter!" growled Lily as reached the landing that the four boys were on.

"So she could _fall _for our prank," giggled James.

"Hope she likes to swim? Right Rem?" laughed Sirius.

"Why you little…" started Lily as she made to lung at James and ring his neck.

"Lily no! Don't," cried Kelly as she grabbed a hold of Lily's robes to hold her back.

"He's not worth it," stated Karen as she too tried to contain Lily.

"Oh come on Evans. It's just a joke," said James with some amusement.

"Joke! You think tricking new students into falling through trick steps is fun?" roared Lily. James just simply nodded and gave her a toothy grin. She tried to get a hold of him again but was stopped this time by Felicia.

"Come on Lil. Let's go," said Felicia as she glared at the four before her. With that the three friends gently pulled the redhead down the stairs until they reached the ground floor of the castle.

"Where could she have gone?" said Lily anxiously. She was mentally berating herself for allowing her friend to become a victim of her enemy's childish pranks.

"I don't know," said Karen hopelessly as tried to think where Andy could have wined up.

"Wait what was it that Blackie said?" said Felicia trying hard to remember.

"Something about 'liking to swim'," said Kelly absentmindedly as she tried to picture where the blond haired witch could have gone.

"A swim?" said Felicia with puzzlement in her voice. She looked at Lily as they both tried to figure out what Sirius was talking about, until, as if they were reading each other's minds…

"The lake!" cried Lily and Felicia at the same time. All four of the girls raced down the hallway to the entrance hall. The first to reach the doors was Lily who jerked open the massive oak doors with much effort. The girls then ran down the front steps and around the castle toward the lake.

"Do you think she's all right?" panted Karen.

"I don't know. Knowing those four they could have done anything to her before she hit the lake," growled Felicia as her and the rest of the girls ran on the uneven earth.

"You don't think she's…" started Kelly not really sure what to expect when they found her.

"Come on let's find her, before…" stated Lily but was stopped when Karen screamed. Coming toward from the direction of the lake was some sort of creature that looked like it stepped right out of a muggle horror movie.

"Oh my Gods…" breathed Kelly.

"What in the name of Merlin?" gasped Felicia at the sight of the creature approaching them.

"Andy?" said Lily with a look of horror and disgust on her face.

"Phlit, yeah. It's me all right," groaned Andy as she tried to spit something out of her mouth. There she was standing before them covered head to toe in mud, feathers, and some sort of sticky green goo. From under the dark mud that Andy tried to brush off herself, they could tell that her once bright blond hair was now a very bright orange.

"Are..are you all right?" said Lily not really knowing whether to help her brush off the mud or to stay back.

"Well…other than the fact that I look like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and my pride being bruised a bit…yeah I'm just peachy," said Andy drenching the last of her words in sarcasm.

"Those little gits!" roared Felicia. "Oh, when I get my hands on Black I'll…" she said as she took her fist and punched it into the palm of her other hand.

"No this seems more like Potter's doing. That's it. That little bugger has gone to far," screamed Lily as she started to make her way back to the castle.

"Guys no! Don't do anything…not yet anyway," pleaded Andy. Felicia, Lily, Karen, and Kelly all looked at her as if she had gone mad.

"What in Tartars are you talking about," asked Kelly in confusion.

"Aren't you pissed off at them?" said Karen.

"On the contrary, I actually admire them. It was a pretty good prank. I don't think I could have thought one up better myself," said Andy as she continued to try to get rid of the mud and feathers that engulfed her.

"Miranda are you sure you're all right?" said Lily with concern. _'Maybe she hit her head or something?'_

"There something you should know about me," chuckled Andy at the sight of confusion on her friend's faces. "I don't get mad. I get even. Excuse me, please." With that their muddy friend walked past them and up to the school where lunch was just being served now.

Andy marched through the Entrance hall into the Great Hall where most of the school was already dinning. She looked up and down at the Gryffindor table until her eyes fell upon her prey. Towards the middle of the long table sat the four culprits, laughing and talking among themselves. As she walked up to them, making slightly gross squishy sounds coming from her shoes, the half of the hall went into complete silence, while the other half was either laughing or trying very hard not to laugh. When the four boys caught sight of their victim coming towards them, they all tried very hard to contain the fit of giggles that were building up inside of them.

"Hello," said James as he tried to stifle a laugh.

"Hi," said Andy sweetly. "I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful mud bath," she said with her arms open gesturing to the mud covering her. "It was rather invigorating."

"You enjoyed it?" said Remus in shock.

"Oh, yeah! Haven't had that much fun in years," replied Andy with enough sarcasm to fill the entire hall.

"So there's no hard feelings, then," said Sirius, stupidly in Andy's opinion.

"Oh no, don't get me wrong. I'm _extremely_ pissed off right now. I just wanted to give a little courteous warning."

"Which is?" said James slightly nervous at what she was going to say next.

"That this…means…war! So I'd watch my back if I were you," she said in a dramatic whisper. "Cheers!" she added brightly before she stormed out of the hall, leaving all four of them bewildered.

"She's not serious is she?" said Peter quietly.

"I think we went a little far with the six foot mud pit," said James slightly nervous as he looked at Sirius.

After leaving the Great Hall, Andy marched up to Gryffindor tower and up to the girl's bathroom where she took a quick bath, and changed her clothes. When she got out of the bathroom, completely rid of mud but unable to loose her new hair color, Kelly, Felicia, Lily, and Karen were already in the second-year dorm each sitting on a bed wait for her. (a/n Karen is sitting on Felicia's bed.)

"So," started Andy as she took a seat on her bed. "you guys want to get back at those little delinquents for last year?"

"Does that mean you want to help us?" said Kelly slightly surprised at Andy's ability to get right to the point.

"Heck ya!" stated Andy eagerly.

"Well…since you're so eager…" said Lily. With that Lily and the rest of the girls informed Andy of their plan to get back at the 'Prank Pack'.

"That sounds pretty good. Very creative. I can't believe that you of all people came up with that, Lil," said Andy in amazement. Out of the four of them, Lily was defiantly one of the last people Andy would expect to come up with such a wicked prank.

"You really think it's good?" said Kelly.

"Yeah!"

"Well don't go getting all too excited," said Lily turning a slight shade of pink.

"Yeah, we still don't know how were going to get close to them without them noticing," added Felicia, still at a lost as to how they were going to pull it off.

"I think I might have an idea. But…it might take some time to prepare it," said Andy with a look that stated she was mentally picturing how to pull the prank.

"What'd you have in mind?" said Lily with an evil grin.

* * *

**A/N-** Oooohhh the plot thickens. (O.k. not really) Well there you have it…chapter four. I already have the next chapter written out, I just need to type it out, so it might be up by the end of the month. (Check around Thanksgiving cuz that's when I go on vacation.) After this next chapter the real story will begin. This first five are just to give you some background info.

Praises and flames are well come to all read this story. (hey how else am I going to know if need to change my writing style or not.) Until next time…

**Disclaimer-** I own nothing. It's all J.K. Rowling.


	5. Let the Torture Begin

****

Days in Avalon

Chapter Five: Let the Torture Begin

It had been nearly three weeks since James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus pulled the prank on Andy. After the threat she made to them in the Great Hall that day, they were expecting her to retaliate at any moment. But after a while they slowly started to let their guard down. By the middle of October, they came to the conclusion that the blond haired witch was just making an empty threat. 'Oh how wrong they were' thought the group of girls as they continued on planning and preparing the boys for a taste of their own medicine. Finally, a week before the Halloween feast the girls were ready to begin an event Hogwarts would never forget.

On Friday morning, the notorious gang of pranksters came down to breakfast as they usually did each morning. They were greeted with the sights and sounds of every Hogwarts students eagerly waiting for the great feast that would be held next week. Rumors had been spread throughout the school that Dumbledore had hired 'The Fang-toothed Vamps' to come and play at the feast. When they sat down to the newly appeared bowls full of sausages, eggs, toast, bacon, and other breakfast items, they were startled by the cheerful voice that came from behind were James and Remus sat.

"Hey guys!" said Andy.

"Uh…hi…Andy," stuttered James. "H-how are you?" he asked somewhat surprised and worried about the way she was acting.

"I'm alright," said Andy brightly as she poured a glass of orange juice for herself. "Gods, can you believe how much homework McGonagall and Portview gave us?"

"Uh, yeah…" said James still slightly on his guard.

"Yeah, I know its murder," chuckled Sirius. James and Remus both looked at their friend with widen eyes. They were in utter shock at their friend's response and petrified as to what Andy's response would be.

"Yeah, I don't know how I'm ever going to get through potions, let alone transfiguration," said Andy as she continued on with her breakfast. James, Peter, and Remus all let out a sigh of relieve that didn't go unnoticed by Andy, as a small evil grin started to form across her face. "I just hope that I can get it all done before the big Quidditch game tomorrow. I'm kinda hoping to get on the team someday," said Andy merrily.

"All right woman, what's wrong with you?" roared Sirius not able to contain his frustration anymore. He was inwardly hoping that his little comment would send her over the edge and hopefully put an end to the state of apprehension that had been put on all of them since they pulled that prank on her.

"What are you talking about Blackie?" said Andy innocently and sweetly.

"Wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago that you were madder than a hippogriff at us? OW!" groan Sirius as he received a hard kick in the shin from his best mate.

"Oh, that? Neh. Just having a little fun is all," said Andy modestly.

"Right," said Sirius giving Andy an eye over. _'What is she planning?'_

"Hey, uh Andy? If you need any help with that potions essay, I could probably give you a hand," piped Remus, eager to steer the conversation out of dangerous waters.

"Thanks Remus. That's so nice of you," said Andy cheerfully as she noticed the time on James's watch. "Oh, would you look at the time. I forgot I was supposed to go talk to Professor Flitwick. See you guys later," she said as she got up and gave a wave good-bye at the four bewildered Gryffindors.

"Bye," said all four boys.

"Ow!" cried Remus as he received a slap in the back on his head from James.

"Are you daft man?" roared James.

"Have you completely gone wanker?" bellowed Sirius.

"What?" said Remus as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You know what. 'I'll help you with that potions essay if you want, Andy!' Please!" said Sirius as he rolled his eyes.

"What were you thinking?" said a bewildered James.

"I was just being nice!" said Remus in defense.

"Oh, you hear the James? Rem here was 'just being nice'," said Sirius in a mocking tone.

"Why do I even bother?" sighed Remus as he rolled his eyes.

"Ah, come on Remy we were just messing with you," chuckled James. "Right Sirius?"

"Yeah. Just don't come crying to us when little Ms. Star there turns you into a shrub or something like that," said Sirius jokingly.

The four friends continued on with their breakfast unaware that two second-year students, one from Hufflepuff, the other a blond Gryffindor, were watching them from outside the doors to the Great Hall. When Andy and Karen saw the four delinquents getting up from the Gryffindor table and heading toward their hiding spot, they quickly and quietly ran to the nearby courtyard that the 'Prank Pact' had been known to hang out at until the start of classes. When they arrived at the courtyard, they found their other three friends ready and eager to hear what they had to say.

"There on the move," gasped Karen as she tried to catch her breath.

"Okay. Everyone get into position," ordered Felicia.

"Hey gals, go easy on Remus a bit. Kay?" said Andy. The four girls all nodded their head in agreement and then went to their respective hiding places. Karen went and hid behind a nearby bush that was just put in by Hagrid a couple of days ago, while Felicia and Kelly hid behind a couple of stone pillars that led back into another part of the castle. Lily and Andy quickly ran up a flight of stairs to the second floor that overlooked the courtyard and the entrance to where the boys would be coming through. After a couple of minutes, they could hear the sounds of the four soon to be victims coming their way.

Lily and Andy mouthed the word 'Ready' to each other and nodded their heads in agreement as they both pulled out their wands.

"Wingardium Leviosa," they both muttered. Suddenly the two massive jars of dust that were on the floor next to them began to float in midair. They then directed the floating jars to the middle of the courtyard where the boys were now standing and talking among themselves.

"Urgh…do we really have to go to potions? I'm not sure if I can stomach another session with Snivellus," groaned James.

"Know the feeling. The bloody prat thinks he's so much better than everyone just because he gets a couple of lousy good marks," said Sirius.

"Hey do you guys get the feeling that were being watched," said Remus as he looked around his surroundings suspiciously.

"What feeling?" asked Peter who wasn't really listening to what his friend said.

"Nothing, I guess," said Remus as he dismissed the thought from his mind.

"Now?" whispered Andy.

"No not yet. Wait a sec," said Lily who was slightly curious as to what the four of them were discussing about. 'Hey how often to do you get an opportunity to gather up some dirt on your enemy?' she thought to herself.

"You know Remus, you're starting to worry me a bit," said Sirius as he crossed his arms in a mock father-like figure.

"What do you mean," said Remus slightly hesitat to answer.

"Well I mean the way you are with that Star girl and her friend Karen. Always so nice and sweet to them," said Sirius with a look someone who had just taken a bite out of a very juicy lemon.

"How many time do I have to tell you that I was just being polite? It's not my fault my mother raised me that way," said Remus now fully tired of having the same discussion with his friend. Suddenly an idea came to him that would take some of the heat off him for a bit. "What's up with you anyway?" he said to Sirius.

"Nothing. Why do you ask?" said Sirius not fully sure what his friend was getting at.

"Because lately it seems that all you ever talk about now is Andy and the rest of them," said Remus cheekily.

"That's not true!" screamed Sirius as he quickly turned a shade of pink.

"Yes it is. Last year it was the same thing with Felicia," retorted Remus.

"Awww…our little Sirius is smitten with a Star," chuckled James in a mock-baby voice.

"Nock it off, James," said Sirius in harsh tone.

"They grow up so fast don't they?' said James to Remus completely ignoring the fact that his friend was getting highly annoyed with him.

"Yeah it only seemed like yesterday that he was hexing and pranking people, and thinking he was God's gift to women," said Remus as placed his hand on James's shoulder reminiscing about all the pranks they had pulled so far and pretending to wipe a tear from his eye.

"Oh what are you talking about, Rem? He still thinks he is," said James in a matter-of-fact tone. During this whole display of mock emotions, Peter was laughing so hard that he was now grabbing his sides and bending over gasping for breath.

"If you two don't shut up I'll throttle you!" growled a seething Sirius.

"Hey, come on mate. We're just having a bit of fun," sniggered James.

"Yeah well…just knock it off alright. I get enough of that sort of crap at home," said Sirius.

"What are you talking about?" said Remus.

"It's nothing. Never mind," sighed Sirius wanting to change the subject. James was the only one out of the three that knew what Sirius was talking about. Over the summer he had gotten a lecture from his mother about how he should stop acting like a child and should be looking for a pureblood witch that could one day produce another Black heir.

"What's he…" started Remus as he turned to talk to James.

"Issues. He's not really getting along with his mum right now," said James in a whisper hoping that Remus wouldn't press for details and that Sirius wouldn't hear. Oops…to late…

"Oy, would you stuff it James! You know you're suppose to be my best mate!" yelled Sirius.

"I am!" screeched James in his defense.

"Now!" whispered Lily to which Andy simply nodded. The two girls then directed the jars to tip over and spill their contents onto the unaware group below.

"Well you could have fooled…me," said Sirius as his gray and blue eyes began to widen with fear as he gazed behind his three friends. James, Remus, and Peter couldn't make out what caused their friend's sudden actions. He was trembling slightly and was slowly backing away from them.

"Sirius what's wrong?" said James with concern.

"G…Gr…G," stuttered Sirius as he continued to back away.

"What are you mumbling about?" said Remus not sure if he was just playing a joke on them or not.

"Gri..gri…" stuttered Sirius again.

"I think he's finally lost it," whispered Remus to James. James's couldn't help but chuckle a bit at his friend's remark.

"GRIFFIN!" shouted Sirius as he finally found his voice.

"Huh?" said all three boys.

"Sirius what are you talking about?" said Peter with a hit of worry in his voice.

"Behind you!" screamed Sirius.

"Sirius there's nothing…" said James as he started to turn around to look behind him, "there?" James had to blink twice to make sure his eyes were deceiving him, for right behind him was an enormous Griffin. The creature had the body of a lion covered in bright gold fur and the head of an eagle with stunning white feathers. But the scariest features of the creature were its massive claws attached to the gigantic paws, the razor sharp beak, and the piercing green eyes that look as if they could see right through a person's very soul. James glanced over in Remus's direction and could see out of the corner of his eye that the same thing he was seeing stunned him. _'Oh………crap!' _thought James.

Lily and Andy sat on the floor of the balcony listening to what the boys were saying until suddenly all was quiet.

"Three……two……one" whispered Andy as she pointed her finger up into the air as if she were a director.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screeched the four boys standing in the courtyard.

At the sight of the griffin, the four pals started to run out of the courtyard until they realized that there was another griffin just as scary as the other standing right at the exit. Soon they realized that not only were there two massive griffins in the courtyard, but four. It seemed like no matter where they turned there would be another massive beast behind them or circling them.

Andy and Lily were literally rolling on the floor at the sight of the 'Prank Pack' running around the courtyard like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off. They both wished that they had a camera to capture the moment of the great pranksters running around the courtyard as if something were chasing them, when in reality there was nothing there. After having a few more moments of enjoying the show, the two witches gave the signal to their friends to start up the next phase of their plan.

From behind a couple of pillars and the newly placed bush, Lily and Andy could see jets of sparks fly and hit their targets. They saw all four of them being hit with the jelly leg curse and fall to the ground with their legs still moving. Then suddenly saw James and Sirius's dark hairs turn to nice bright shade of neon pink, while Remus and Peter's hairs turned neon orange. They could also that the effects of the powder were now taking effect as all for of them started to grow little twigs and leaves in their hair and on arms. Feathers and fur started to appear on each boy as Felicia, Kelly, and Karen continued on with the attack. After all the curses and hexes that the girls had planed were performed, Andy then took out a small container of red pixy powder that she had picked up at a shop in Diagon Ally.

"Let's see how they react to this," said Andy as she performed the levitation charm again and spilled the contents of the container onto the four of them. Suddenly little spits of fire started to pop up on each boy's clothes.

"Relax, it's unburnable cool fire. It looks like real fire, but it doesn't cause object to burn. All they're going to feel is a slight tingling sensation," said Andy when she noticed the worried look on Lily's face.

"Rem you're on fire!" screamed James.

"Ahh…so are you, James!" shouted Sirius as he tried to help his friend put out the fire on his robes.

"We're all on fire!" declared Remus as he tried desperately to get his robes off. One by one each boy pulled and yanked off their robes, shirts, and pants until they were stripped down into nothing but their boxers. When they were finally free of their so called burning clothes, they ran from the courtyard back into the castle, right when everyone was coming out of the great hall from breakfast.

"Well look what we have here," cackled Lucius Malfoy.

"Looks like some people don't know how to get dressed in the morning," chuckled Severus at the sight of seeing his arch nemesis in his underwear in front of the whole school.

From seeing the look on everyone's faces and the jokes that were being made, the realization of what just happened to them started to sink in. They had been had.

"POTTER! BLACK! LUPIN! PETTIGREW! What is the meaning of this?" shouted Professor McGonagall as she pushed her way through the crowd of students.

"It's not our fault!" said James and Sirius in unison.

"We've been had!" said Remus.

"Honest Professor!" pleaded Peter.

"Very well then, who did this?" roared Professor McGonagall as she looked at the crowd of students that had gathered around the four boys. Everyone had looked at each other and asked inwardly 'Who had finally been able to prank the up and coming kings of pranks?' By this time, Lily, Andy, Kelly, Felicia, and Karen had managed to mingle into the crowd undetected. They too looked around innocently to try and see any guilty faces among the crowd.

"No one will come forward then? Fine, have it your way then. I will wait until this evening for the culprit or culprits to turn his or herself in. If no one has done so then I will take this matter to the headmaster himself," said Professor McGonagall as she glared at several people in the crowd, none of which were the real culprits. "Well don't just stand there, everyone to their classes now! As for you lot, I will inform Professor Portview that you will be late to class. Now will you please go and put on your uniforms."

"Yes Professor," said all four boys in a drone tone. As everyone departed from the Entrance Hall, they couldn't help but laugh or make jokes of the misfortune of the Gryffindors, including Professor McGonagall. (Although she would never admit it, even if they were from her own house.) Soon the only ones left in the hall were 'Prank Pack' in their boxers and their adversaries.

"Oh look gals, a little show," said Lily.

"Oh my it must really be cold without any clothes on," said Kelly. All four of the boys timidly tried to cover themselves up but to no avail.

"Yeah, I'll say," added Karen as she joined in the mockery.

"Hey nice boxers by the way," chuckled Andy as she glanced at the colorful arrangement of solid gray, red and green flannel, and…little flying hippogriff knickers.

"Yes, mashing knickers boys," giggled Felicia. At that moment James, Sirius, and Remus realized exactly who pulled the great prank on them. The last people they would have thought…

"YOU!" yelled James, Sirius, and Remus at the same time as they pointed their fingers at the group of girls before them.

"What?" said Lily.

"You did this! Didn't you?" said James in a livid and slightly impressed tone.

"Well…not me personally. I did have some help," said Lily as she glanced at her four friends.

"I told you it was a bad idea," whispered Remus to Sirius.

"Shut up, Rem," hissed Sirius.

"Awwwww…what? Did little Sirius and James not like a taste of their own medicine," said Andy in a mock baby tone.

"Nah, I think that Blackie's just embarrassed because the girl he fancies had to see him in his knickers," said Felicia in a matter of fact tone.

"Oh, don't you mean _girls _he fancies?" added Andy. With those remarks Sirius suddenly turned, if at all possible, not one by six shades of red.

"You're going to pay for this Evans!" yelled a frustrated James. "And I thought you were such a goody goodie."

"I still am," said Lily simply.

"Not until McGonagall catches you," said James with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Now how would she when the stuff we used on you is untraceable," said Lily grinning at the fact that she had finally beat the great James Potter at his own game.

"Untraceable? How?" said a perplexed James, Remus, and Sirius.

"Don't mess with the masters, boys," said Andy as she pointed a finger to herself.

"Come on girls, lets leave these boys to dressing themselves," giggled Lily as she lead the way to the their first class.

"Oh, loved the stripteases by the way," said Felicia as an after mark while passed the bewildered group who's mouths were now hanging open in shock.

"Oh this is far from over," said James in dark tone as he glared at the group of girls.

* * *

**A/N** Well there you have it, chapter five. Not really one of my better chapters but still okay. The next chapter will start up during the groups fifth year.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! Seriously I own nothing, not even a car or a cell phone. Well okay, I do own this story and the characters that I created. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.


	6. Year of the Owls

****

Days in Avalon

Chapter Six: Year of the Owls

"Hey Lily? Earth to Lil. Come in Lil," said a distant voice.

"Huh?" said Lily just now registering that someone was waving their hand in front of her face. She blinked back into reality and saw that the hand belonged to her friend Felicia with her other friend Kelly sitting next to her.

"Hey you okay? You spaced out there for a bit," said Felicia.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I was just thinking about stuff," said Lily as she glanced out the window of the train to see the last few students boarding the Hogwarts Express.

"Oh? What kinda stuff," said Felicia with a sly grin.

"Stuff that happened at the beginning of Second year," said Lily slightly annoyed with her friend's sometimes sick and perverted mind.

"Huh? Oh…you mean the famous striptease of Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew," said Felicia as she remembered the looks on their faces and how she felt when her and her friends pulled off one of the greatest pranks Hogwarts had seen in years.

"Yeah that was pretty cool," said Kelly as she to relived the memory. "It's hard to believe that it was almost three years ago."

"Oh please don't remind me," grimaced Felicia. "I don't know how I'm going to handle this year. I heard that this is going to be the hardest, next to NEWT year. So you know what that means."

"Yeah, I know exactly what that means," said Lily. "It means you'll wait until the last minute again to finish your homework and then come crying to me to help you." At this remark Kelly broke out into a fit of giggles while Felicia looked on Lily with a scandalized face.

"Hey gals, can we join you?" said a familiar sweet voice coming from the door. There standing in the doorway was none other than their Hufflepuff friend Karen with a shy looking eleven-year-old girl.

"Karen!" said Kelly and Lily at the same time.

"Of course," said Felicia glad that her conversation with Lily was over.

"Thanks. Oh, gals this is my little sister Candice," said Karen pointing to the girl next to her who gave a timid 'hello'.

"Hi!" said the three girls at once.

"First year?" said Lily as Candice took a seat next to her.

"Yep," said Karen.

"Ah, don't worry. You'll have a great time. Hogwarts isn't that bad," said Lily trying to comfort the scared first year.

"Yeah, the only thing you'll have to worry about is the wrath of McGonagall," said Felicia. "Now students remember to annunciate properly! No SLOUCHING! How many times have I told you.." said Felicia in a mock impersonation of her Transfiguration professor and Head of House. By this time all of the girls, including Lily, were now laughing hysterically at Felicia's performance as the train pulled out of the station and started steaming north.

"Potter! Black! How many times have I told you not to turn Mr. Snape into a salamander?" added Felicia in her 'McGonagall' voice.

"Now there are a couple of people who you should really look out for," said Kelly.

"Yeah, no kidding. Those two are a nightmare!" said Lily.

"Wait aren't those the two you told me about?" said Candice to her sister.

"Yep the same ones. Two of the biggest prats in Hogwarts history," said Karen.

"The world actually, especially Blackie," said Felicia with a slight shutter.

"I don't know about that. Potter could give him a run for his money some days, especially around the Gryffindor/Slytherin match," said Lily as she rolled her eyes.

"True. But if it weren't for Andy helping to keep him along with the rest of the gang in check, the hospital wing would be over flowing with victims of their pranks," said Kelly.

"Speaking of Andy, where is she?" said Felicia noticing a trunk above Lily baring Andy's initials.

"Don't know," said Kelly now wondering where the fifth member of their group was.

"I haven't seen her at all," said Karen.

"She said something about seeing Wood," said Lily as she dug through her bag looking for her new book that she just bought.

"Wood?" said Kelly with her eyes widening with surprise.

"Yeah, he's the new Quidditch captain. He wanted to talk to her and Robin about some new strategies," said Lily.

"Just hope she doesn't run into that Keeper of his. Geez do you remember the last time those two got into a row," said Felicia.

"How could we forget, it was right before we got of the train a couple months ago!" laughed Karen.

"Do you guys even know what that fight was about?" said Kelly.

"Not really. The only thing I remember was something about him being a 'lying-cheat' and then…" said Lily.

"Yeah, all hell broke loose," finished Felicia.

"Let's just hope this year doesn't start off with…" said Karen but was interrupted with someone familiar shouting in the hallway.

"Why don't you grow up you juvenile delinquent!"

"No thanks. Besides where's the fun in that?" said an all to familiar male voice.

"Uh oh," groaned Kel and Karen.

"Not again," exasperated Lily as she got up and headed toward the door.

"And so it starts," sighed Felicia as she followed in Lily's wake. As they both looked out the hall they could see the back of their friend Andy 'talking' to none other than her arch nemesis, Sirius Black.

"Geez you're _never_ going to change, are you? Even when you're…a thirty year old man, you're still going to have the same stupid jokes and gags," said a frustrated Andy.

"No actually I plan on coming up with some new ones," said Sirius cheekily.

"Why do I even try to be nice?" sighed Andy to herself.

"Because you fancy me. Come on, admit it. You know you want me. That's why you continue to talk to me," said Sirius in a matter of fact tone.

"Urgh, excuse me now while I'll barf! For your information, the only reason why I even acknowledge your presence is because you're James's best mate, and we just so happen to be on the same Quidditch team," growled Andy as she tried to control her temper.

"Aww…that's only your excuse, Sparky," said Sirius in a sweet tone.

"How many times have I told you **_not_** to call me that!" roared Andy.

"Ummm…counting now…about 78,901."

"Smart ass," sighed Andy as she rolled her eyes.

"Thanks."

"It wasn't a compliment," spat Andy as she turned to leave and join her friends in their compartment. That was until Sirius noticed the small backpack purse hanging loosely from her hand and decided to grab it. "HEY!"

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" sang Sirius.

"Give it back Blackie!" growled Andy, as she was growing more annoyed by the minute with the presence of the boy before.

"Now just a minute," said Sirius brightly as he held the bag just out of Andy's reach.

"What's going on here?" said a voice from behind Sirius. As Andy quickly tried to grab her belonging she saw that the voice came from yet another Marauders, Remus Lupin.

"Someone said…oh, should have guessed," said Remus when he saw who was causing the disturbance on the train.

"Hey Moony! How's one of my best mates doing?" said Sirius as he abandoned Andy and went over to his fellow partner in crime.

"Fine. What are you doing," said Remus skeptically as he noticed the big grin on Sirius's face.

"Being an idiotic prat as usual," chortled Andy. "Give it back Black!"

"No. I was just trying to help out my friend the prefect here," said Sirius in a matter of fact tone.

"How's taking my bag helping him out?" shouted a perplexed Andy. _'This guy become more brainless than ever, if that's at all possible!' _she thought.

"Well…there might be some items that need to be confiscated. You know dung bombs, a box of vomit-flavored jellybeans, some of the special itching powder…" rambled Sirius until…

"Sirius's brain," stated a voice coming from the compartment just behind Sirius and Remus. As the door slid open, out stepped none other than James Potter along with Peter Pettigrew giggling from behind him.

"James. How long have you been there?" said Andy slightly grateful to see someone who could end this without someone getting hurt…namely Sirius.

"Long enough. What's up Andy?" chuckled James.

"Nothing much. Just trying to think of the perfect hex for your mate here," said Andy as she glared at Sirius.

"Now why would you do such a thing?" said James playfully.

"Because he's as big as a toerag as yourself, Potter," growled a voice belonging to Lily, who was now tired of these games.

"Oh great here comes…Evans," said James losing he's train of thought as Lily came up along side Andy, followed by Felicia and Kelly.

"That's enough Sirius," growled Lily.

"Lil, it's fine. I don't need your help. People like _him_ I can handle," said Andy as she tried to get her best friend to step back and avoid another incident like the one that happened a couple of months prior.

"Oh, and just how are you going to handle me?" said Sirius with an evil smirk on him face and a raised eyebrow.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Sirius," said Felicia in a strange tone.

"Come on Padfoot, just give it back," said James.

"Fine," said Sirius in defeat. As he handed over Andy's bag, a small red book fell out of the bag.

"Oh what's this…another diary perhaps," said Sirius with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"No," spat Andy as she ripped the book out of his hands, "I already learned from that mistake."

"Come on then, let go take our seats," suggested Remus eager to end the confrontation before things got out of hand. With that everyone started to go their separate ways. That was until Andy heard…

"Yeah, so Sparky can get all excited about a new boy and write it down," chuckled Sirius to James as they headed for the compartment that James had just came out of.

"Odous largus!" shouted Andy as she quickly whipped out her wand and pointed it strait at Sirius's back. Suddenly Sirius's entire mouth felt very cramped. Upon opening it, he saw that he now had primitive caveman teeth via his reflection in the window.

"That does it!" he mumbled. "_Longus nasus taille" _shouted Sirius with his wand pointed at the group of girls. Just as fast as Sirius's teeth grew, Lily, Andy, Felicia, and Kelly suddenly grew long Pinocchio noses and an extra little surprise.

"Oh, real mature Black. Did you think that up all by yourself or did your mummy help you?" spat Andy as Lily muttered the counter curse for the long noses.

"I wouldn't talk if I were you, tail girl," chuckled Sirius. By now a good portion of the students on the train were now watching this little display of who's better than whom. Half of the people couldn't help but laugh at the new appendages that the girls grew while the other half was in total shock.

"Huh?" said all four girls until they noticed that something was whipping behind them.

"You gave me a tail?" said Andy in total repulsion.

"Well…not just you," giggled James as he pointed to the tails on Lily, Felicia, and Kelly.

"You little git!" screamed Felicia.

"Take it off now!" roared Lily.

"Good one mate," chuckled James.

"It's not funny!" screeched Lily.

"Yeah, it is," said James.

"Take it off me!" yelled Felicia with a mad glint in her eyes.

"Make us," smirked Sirius.

"Alright," said Felicia in a harsh tone as she pulled out her wand from her back pocket.

"Felicia no!" screamed Karen, but she was too late. Felicia uttered a spell that sent Sirius flying into James. As he was getting up, all both Lily and Andy saw the crazed look in he eyes and knew that what he was thinking wasn't good. Lily quickly tried to pull out her wand, just as Sirius fired another curse.

"PROTEGO!" shouted Andy who had already had her wand ready. Just as Sirius's curse hit Andy's shield, the curse bounced back and hit all four of the Marauders knocking them all to the ground.

"I see someone's been practicing dueling," grunted Sirius as he propped himself up on his elbows and was met with Andy and Lily standing right in front with their wands pointing directly at his heart.

"No, I'm just better than you. Why won't you just admit it?" said Andy.

"I don't think so," spat Sirius as he glanced at James. Suddenly out of know where, James swiftly took hold of Lily and pined her to the wall, while Sirius knocked down Andy and pined her to the floor.

"Now that's better," chuckled Sirius as he gazed down at Andy while she tried to break his grip.

"Let me go Potter!" screamed Lily as she tried to break the death grip that James had around her waist.

"Get off, Black!" roared Andy as she fumbled around in search of her wand.

"Nope. Not until you say the magic word," said Sirius with a smirk.

"Get off now, or I'll hex you into the middle of next week," said Andy as she tried to get up.

"ANNNNN," said Sirius imitating a buzzer, "Wrong answer."

"Oh really?" chimed Andy as she finally grabbed a hold of the slender piece of wood next to her. "Rictusempra!" With that just as fast as the boys acted, Lily broke free of James's grip by stepping on his foot and Andy pushed Sirius off her while he was feeling the effects of the tickling curse. While Sirius was twitching around on the ground, Andy mirrored his exact attack and pinned him to the floor.

"Now what were you saying?" chimed Andy.

"How did I know you were the type that likes to be on top?" chuckled Sirius as the effects of the spell started to wear off.

"Huh? Urgh…you little _pig_!" spewed Andy as she quickly jumped off him and stormed down the hallway into the girl's compartment.

"Why don't you teach your mate there how not to act like a complete prat!" shouted Lily to James. "Oh wait I forgot who I was talking to."

"Hey I resent that. And besides it doesn't work." chimed James as Lily and the rest of the girls stormed off into their compartment.

"EEERRRRRRRRRRR- I CAN'T STAND THAT LITTLE PIECE OF…" growled Andy paced back and forth seething with anger.

"Andy calm down," said Lily.

"Calm down? CALM _DOWN_! Did you hear what that little slimy maggot said?" yelled Andy.

"Yeah I heard. But you still need to calm down. Here, take a deep breath," said Lily.

"I really doubt that breathing will help any here, Li.." said Andy.

"Breath!" exclaimed Lily, Felicia, Kelly, and Karen at the same time. Seeing that there was no way out of it, Andy complied and took a deep breath and held it for a while.

"Exhale," said Lily after a couple of moments. "Better?"

"Yeah," said Andy not really wanting to admit it, as she flopped down into a seat.

"What happened anyway?" said Karen.

"I was talking to Wood and…" started Andy but she soon grabbed the nearest pillow and began screaming into it.

"Why don't we wait a few minutes," suggested Kelly.

"Or hours," added Karen.

"Or days," said Felicia.

"Or years," giggled Lily.

"How about a life time," chimed Andy feeling a bit calmer. "All right, that whole thing started when I was talking to Wood and Robin about some new strategies for this year. Anyways, James came in followed by," said Andy as she tried to keep from going all bonkers again.

"Let me guess, Black?" said Karen to which Andy nodded.

"Yeah, _him._ Well, while we were talking, he decided to brag about what a wonderful keeper he is, and how he plans on blocking a hundred goals this season. And he just kept going on and on and on and on and on," said Andy in disgust.

"Well, Andy he is a good keeper. That's why he's on the house team," said Felicia.

"I know that! And if it weren't for that and the fact that he's Jay's best mate, I wouldn't even say two words to him," said Andy.

"Wait, you're friends with James Potter?" piped Candice.

"Yeah. Wait, who are you?" said Andy just now noticing the small first year sitting next to Karen.

"Candice, my sister," said Karen.

"Oh, hi! Sorry about that," said Andy now feeling like a complete idiot blowing up in front of a small kid.

"That's alright. I'm actually finding this entertaining. But I thought you lot hated Potter," said Candice.

"We do," said a variety of voices.

"Well…one of us truly does," said Felicia under breath.

"So then why are you friends with him?" said Candice.

"Ever heard of the phrase, 'keep your friends close, but your enemies closer'?" said Andy with a smirk.

"Yeah, you really kept him close," said Lily.

"Now what's that suppose to mean?" said Andy as she glanced over to her friend.

"Nothing…other than the fact that you kept snogging with him all through third year," spat Lily.

"Not this again," sighed Andy as hung her head. "Lil, how many times do I have to tell you it wasn't like that."

"What is she talking about," asked Candice.

"Back when we were in third year, Jay and I started to…well…date," said Andy.

"And snog," said Lily in abhorrence.

"Lily do you really want to know how many times I actually kissed him?" said Andy getting tired of having the same quarrel with her friend.

"You kept count?" said Kelly.

"Well I think three is an easy number to remember," said Andy.

"Yeah, right," said Felicia not buying what her friend was saying.

"You don't believe? Fine, give me some of that Vera-what-ever-crap, and I'll prove it to you," said Andy as she started into her friend's eyes not blinking for a second.

"You're serious?" said Karen.

"Yeah. Each time we did, it just felt weird. Kinda like I was kissing my brother, or cousin, or something like that," said Andy with a shutter.

"I still don't get what possessed you to even go out with him," said Lily.

"He's not that bad, Lil. Sure, yeah, he can be a royal pain in the behind some days…"

"Some days?" chuckled Lily.

"but he's really in nice." said Andy trying to make Lily believe her.

"Whatever," sighed Lily.

"Anyways I thought you'd think of him differently after what happened a couple of years ago," said Andy with a smirk. All of sudden Lily quickly turned toward her friends with wide eyes.

"Don't even go there," warned Lily.

"What are you talking about?" said Kelly at a lost.

"Wait you're not…"said Felicia to Andy.

"Yep!" said Andy with a wide grin on her face.

"What? What are you lot talking about?" said Kelly again.

"Oh, yeah that's right. She wasn't there!" said Karen now understanding what was going on.

"What!" said Kelly not liking to be out of the loop.

"Back during third year, Andy here dared Lil to do something," said Felicia with an evil smirk on her face as she glanced over to where Lily was sitting and could see that she was starting to turn a slight shade of crimson.

"Which was?" said Kelly desperate to know.

"I told her to go and kiss James," said Andy in a matter of fact tone as relaxed back into her chair.

"You what?" chuckled Kelly.

"Not only kiss," chimed Karen. "She had to kiss him on the lips, slip him the tongue and do it for three minutes. Oh, and she had to pinch him in on the arse after doing it."

"Yeah, right! Like our Lily would ever do that!" chuckled Kelly until she noticed Lily's color and how she kept trying to avoid making eye contact with them. "You didn't? Did you?"

"It wasn't the highest moment in my life," mumbled Lily in defeat.

"OH…MY…GOD! I can't believe I missed it!" laughed Kelly at the thought of seeing her friend kissing her worst nightmare.

"Well thanks for this wonderful trip down memory lane," said Lily as she got up and fixed her robes. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have prefect duties," she huffed.

"Lil come on. Lily!" said Andy right when Lily slammed the compartment door shut.

"Guess she's still a little upset about it," said Kelly trying to break the awkward silence that crept up.

"Yeah," sighed Andy knowing that she had definitely crossed a line.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** For the hundredth time…I don't own anything except for characters Andy, Felicia, Kelly, Karen, and any other character I think up. Everyone else belongs to J.K. Rowling.


	7. Welcome Back!

****

Days in Avalon

Chapter Seven: Welcome Back!

"Why don't you teach your mate there how not to act like a complete prat!" shouted Lily to James. "Oh wait I forgot who I was talking to."

"Hey I resent that. And besides it doesn't work." chimed James as Lily and the rest of the girls stormed off into their compartment.

"Geez you'd think that a girl like that could handle a joke, huh," said Sirius with a smirk as he got up off the floor. Remus just looked at his friend and rolled his eyes. _'Star's right. He is a complete pig,' _he thought. _'What a git!'_

"What are you looking at," questioned Sirius.

"Nothing," said Remus as he entered into the compartment and took a seat next to the window, followed by Peter who was replaying the events that just happened in his head. Sirius was about to follow them when he noticed that his partner in crime wasn't by his side. He turned around and found James standing in the hallway looking down at the compartment that the girls were in.

"Hey Prongs, you all right there?" said Sirius as he came up to him and nudged him out of his trance.

"Huh? Oh yeah…yeah I'm fine," said James in a strange tone, as he reluctantly turned and walked back into the compartment. Little did Sirius know that his best friend couldn't get the thought of a certain red head, or the warm feeling he had when he held her in his arms. 'What's the matter with me?' thought James as he tried to get back to reality. 'Why am I thinking of Evans like that anyway?'

As James was slowly coming back to reality, he could feel someone shaking beside him, as if they were trying not to laugh. He looked over to his right and saw Sirius with a wide grin on his face slightly chuckling.

"What's so funny?" said Peter as he took notice to Sirius's behavior.

"Nothing," chuckled Sirius as he shook his head. Remus and James glanced at each other with the same curiosity in their eyes, until the realization of what, or rather who, Sirius was laughing about.

"Why do you constantly have do that to her?" said Remus getting tired of Sirius's sudden bursts of laughter. "All it ever does is lead to a fight."

"Because it's fun to watch the 'little princess' blow up like that," chuckled Sirius as if it were obvious.

"Yea know mate, I'm not sure it's a good idea to keep teasing her like that," said James suddenly taking Sirius off guard.

"What! Whose side are you on anyways?" said Sirius out of shock at what his friend said.

"I'm not on anyone's side. I just think you should take it easy a bit," said James in a brotherly tone.

"Why? Because she's your ex-girlfriend?" spat Sirius.

"No, because I don't really want to see her turn my best mate into a weasel. Although it might be a better improvement," said James to which he received a pillow in the face from Sirius.

"Hey I can watch out for myself, thanks. You just tell little miss Star to do the same. Or do you like protecting your ex-girlfriends," said Sirius with a smirk.

"How many times to I have to tell you? She's more like a sister, to me," sighed James.

"Besides, like she'll even listen to him," said Remus as he began to look for something in his bag. "The only one that can really get to her is Lily."

"Hey speaking of Evans, did you see the look on her face when James here pinned her to the wall," said Peter eagerly. Remus then rolled his eyes again and began to read his new Quidditch book that got a couple of weeks ago.

"Umm…Evans? N-no not…not really," said James in a tone that he hoped sounded normal. James couldn't help but close his eyes a bit and envision the feeling he felt when he had Lily pinned to the wall. _'What is going on with me?'_ he thought as he snapped back into reality.

"Sorry no. I was er- a little busy at the moment," said Sirius slightly in a daze. James and Peter noticed the strange tone in his voice and saw _the look_ on his face. The one that told them that he was thinking up of something either evil or sickening.

"Hey!" said James as he elbowed Sirius in the arm. He had a pretty good idea what, or rather who, he was thinking of in his own little world.

"What?" said a puzzled Sirius as he rubbed his arm unsure of why he got an elbow until he realized what he said. "Oh please! You know I can't stand the girl! She ruined some of our best pranks mate. Besides she doesn't do a thing for me." he said in a mock tone.

"Oh really?" said James willing to play along in the mockery. After staring at each other for a moment the two of them busted out laughing.

The rest of the trip consisted of Remus and Peter playing Wizard Chess, while James and Sirius discussed upcoming pranks over a game of Exploding Snaps. When the train arrived at Hogwarts a few hours later, everyone began to scramble around preparing to depart the train. Peter quickly exited the compartment eager to get to the fest, followed by James, Sirius, and Remus. Right when James stepped out into the hallway he accidentally ran into someone.

"Sorry, I didn't mean.." started James until he was met with a pair of sparkling emerald eyes. Suddenly James had a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach, as if he had missed a step or something.

"Watch where you're going, Potter," spat Lily as she headed down the hall to catch up with Remus.

"Oy Prongs? You going to stand in the middle of the doorway all night?" said Sirius.

"You alright there Jay?" said a voice from behind James. It was Andy along with Felicia and Kelly.

"Umm…yeah. Fine," said James quickly as he made his way to the exit. Both Andy and Sirius looked at their friend with confusion, thinking the same thing. _'What's up with him?'_ Noticing that they were both staring at the same thing, Andy and Sirius glared at each other with the pure disgust and abhorrence in their eyes.

"Princess," snarled Sirius.

"Ringo wanna be," spat Andy as headed for the exit. Both Felicia and Kelly couldn't help but laugh at their friends comment and neither could Remus.

"What was that about?" inquired Sirius.

"You definitely should take Muggle studies this year mate," said Remus as he pushed Sirius forward.

Everyone then made it their way to the nearest unoccupied carriage that would take them up to the castle for the Opening Feast. In the distance, everyone could hear the bellow calls of the gamekeeper Hagrid rounding up the first years. "Firs' years over here!" As the so-called horseless carriages made there way up the sloping drive to the castle, everyone gasped in awe of the place that has become a second home to most. All of the students then climbed the grand staircase in front of the school and made there way to the Great Hall for the Opening Feast. After a few minutes of chattering, Professor McGonagall came in with the new first years and began the Sorting Ceremony. (A/N: Not really good with poetry so I'm not going to try and write a song for the hat…yet.)

After the last person was sorted, (a boy who was now running toward the Ravenclaw table) Professor Dumbledore stood up and began his opening speech.

"Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I'd like to congratulate all of the first years on their sorting. Now as customary, I shall like to inform all that the dark forest is strictly forbidden to anyone and everyone. Also our caretaker Mr. Filtch has added some additional items, that if found, will be confiscated. I'll ask that all prefects and the new Head boy and girl, read this list over. Now that that is taken care of…Let the feast begin!" Suddenly, (as usual) all off the house tables were suddenly covered with a variety of foods.

"Peace offering, oh lady of all prefects?" said Andy to Lily with a pathetic sad puppy dog look as she presented a couple of chocolate frogs to her. Lily just sat there, glaring at Andy with a slight hint of disgust in her emerald eyes. Felicia and Kelly looked on them both as if they were watching a muggle tennis match, anxious to know what was going to happen next. Andy continued on with her pleading look for a few more moments, getting worried that Lily was never going to do anything. That was until…

"HMPPPMHHHHHHHAAAAAAAA" snorted Lily as she broke out into a great laugh. Andy sighed with relief as she took the seat across from Lily.

"Friends again?" said Andy as she extended her hand to Lily.

"Yeah. Sure, why not," giggled Lily as she rolled her eyes and shook Andy's hand. Out of the corner of her eye, Lily could see a couple of boys laughing and joking around. "Besides, whom else am I going to get to help try and keep them in line?" she said as she motioned to where the Marauders were sitting.

"True," snorted Andy as she started to fix herself a plate of food. After everyone had finally gotten some food in their stomachs and had some small chit chat, Karen came over from the Hufflepuff table to join her friends, followed closely by her sister Candice, who was eager to learn more about her sister's friends.

"Hey Candice, congratulations on getting into Hufflepuff," said Lily as the remains of their dinner melted away and the desserts started to appear.

"Thanks," said Candice who was suddenly drowned out by the loud out burst that came from the Marauders down the table. All of the girls (minus Candice) groan in disgust and rolled their eyes.

"So why do you hate them," said Candice giving into her curiosity.

"Hate is such a strong word," said Andy as glared down the table.

"Despise.." said Kelly,

"detest," added Karen.

"loath," added Felicia.

"Those are good words to describe what feel towards them," said Lily.

"What the…!" spat Andy so loudly that it frightened half of the people around her. Lily turned back to look at her friend, who now looked like a she had just stepped out of the shower. Her entire face and hair was covered in pumpkin juice that was once in her goblet.

"What happened?" said Kelly as she looked up at her friend. Right when she had spoken another loud outburst thundered from down the table. All the girls looked down to find James giving a high five to Sirius as he put his wand back into his robes.

"That's IT!" growled Andy as she shot out from her seat with malice in her eyes. As fast as she had gotten up, Felicia and Karen both pulled on the back of her robes and pulled her back down into her seat.

"Calm down, Andy," said Karen as she tried to restrain her friend.

"Take it easy. He's just doing it to spite you," said Felicia.

"Yeah well there are a couple of things I'd like to do to 'spite' him," roared Andy.

"Andy," said Lily in a warning tone as she motioned to the head table. Professor McGonagall was looking at the Gryffindor table ready to spring out of her chair at the slightest scent of trouble.

"Right. Thanks," said Andy as she took a couple of cleansing breaths.

"What did he do to tick her off so much?" whispered Candice to Kelly.

"You really want to know?" said Andy who obviously overheard Candice's question. Candice bit her lip slightly and gave a little nod not fully sure if she wanted to know.

"Fine," said Andy.

"Oh great. Here we go," said Felicia sarcastically. Andy ignored her friend and went on with her story.

"Back in third year I use to carry around a diary. Don't really know why I picked up the habit of carrying it around all the time, but that's beside the point. One night I accidentally left it in the common room after I had finished my potions essay. I didn't know I left it down there until the next morning when Sirius handed it to me. Said he was being a friend. And like the naive girl that I was, I actually believed him. Well, what I didn't know was that when he found it, he picked it up and read the entire thing that night."

"Urgh, that's terrible," said Candice.

"Oh I haven't even gotten to the heart of it yet. See in the diary I wrote about how I had this little crush on a guy from Ravenclaw, and how I could never really go up to him and say 'hi' or that I liked him. Well Sirius decided to do it for me instead. He copied down the passages and owled them…to everyone in the entire school. But what I had later found out was that he to it upon himself to add a few of his own 'literary descriptions'. Thought it would jazz it up a bit," said Andy with a shutter.

"What did he write," said Candice with a look of horror and disgust on his face.

"Let's just say he wrote some things that I wouldn't even dream of doing," said Andy as she glanced down at the table.

"What a git!" cried Candice.

"Yeah, but Andy here dealt with him all right," chimed Kelly as she finished off a tart.

"What do you mean," asked Candice.

"That night, after everyone got their letter, she throttled him in the middle of the common room while everyone was studying," chuckled Kelly.

"No way!" said Candice in disbelief and amazement.

"Afraid so…" said Felicia, "after she punched him right between the eyes, of course."

"How many guys did it take to get you off him," inquired Karen.

"Four. Almost gave Jay a bloody lip," said Andy as she finished off her second piece of cherry pie.

"Yeah and almost kicked out two of Remus's teeth," said Lily in a slightly harsh tone.

"Who else helped out?" said Felicia.

"Wood and a seventh year umm… Nichols I think," said Andy.

"Didn't you get into trouble?" said Candice with a puzzled look on her face.

"I only got five points taken away and had to help clean out Professor Corinthos's cabinet," said Andy with a sigh and slightly dreamy look in her eyes.

"I think that was the first light punishment McGonagall ever gave you," said Lily.

"What are you talking about? It was a _great _punishment," said Andy as if it were obvious. "At least I didn't have to spend detention with Flitch and Portview for an entire month, like _some _people."

"How come you only got an evening, while he got a month," inquired Candice.

"Don't really know," said Andy with a shrug. "McGonagall said something about being 'provoked."

"Hey gals, it's time to go. I'll catch up with you later. Got to go do my duties as a prefect," said Lily as she got up and went to deal with the new first years.

"Look at them. All high and mighty," said Sirius in a mock disgust tone as he saw the group of girls get up and mingle in with crowd of students heading out of the Great Hall.

"Give it a rest, Sirius," said James.

"Yeah, really. I don't think I can stand any more of your constant bickering," said Remus as he ushered the first years out of the hall.

"She's the one who started it!" said Sirius.

"Right and my dad is the Minister of Magic," said James.

"How is your dad doing anyway?" said Remus.

"Busy. Everyone in the Auror department is getting a bit worked over about this new dark wizard coming to power…Lord something or another," said James.

"Sounds kinda serious," said Peter with a slight shutter.

"Nah. They guy will be caught in a few months. Year at the most," said James simply as he and the rest of the Gryffindors climbed the staircases and traveled down the corridors to the portrait of the Fat Lady. Once everyone was inside, they all went to their respected dorms dreading the fact that classes started the next morning.

* * *

**A/N:** There you go, chapter seven. Nothing really too exciting happening in this chapter, but the next one will have some interesting scenes. (he he…evil thoughts…he he) Anyway I hope that you enjoy this new installment. Oh yeah, if anyone gets a little offended about the way Andy acts, you got to understand that she's the tomboy of the group. But as the years go by, she'll start to calm down a bit.

**Disclaimer:** How many times to I have to write this out? I'm not, repeat, **_NOT _**J.K. Rowling and I do not own HP. I only own the characters I made up and this story. Everything else belongs to her.


	8. Is it a little bit chilly in here?

****

Days in Avalon

Chapter Eight: Is it a little bit chilly in here?

"Geez…what do you think they're doing? Giving us all this homework!" whined Felicia as she flipped through her Transfiguration book trying to find the chapter on Vanishing spells in the Gryffindor common room.

Since the beginning of the year, all of the teachers at Hogwarts seemed to be putting all of the students into overdrive, whether it was assigning essays that needed to be two rolls long, or having the students perform advance charms and spells that have been known to have some strange outcomes. By mid-October, everyone was eager for some form of a vacation from their strenuous studies.

"Where have you been?" said Kelly as she was looking over her essay for her History of Magic class.

"Duh, it's OWL Year," said Karen not even looking up from her Transfiguration book as she tried to figure out why she could only make her owl's head disappear. Since she was having some difficulty with the spell, Lily offered to help her out in the Gryffindor common room, since the library was full of seventh years working on a project for their NEWT classes.

"What did you think they were going to do? Give us a break?" chuckled Andy as she finished off her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay.

"How am I going to finish McGonagall's essay, Portview's, and Binns's by Friday!" cried Felicia on the verge of tears.

"Felicia, the assignments were given out last week Tuesday," said Lily as she helped Karen with her wand movement.

"Yeah? So?"

"So why are you just starting the essays now?" stated Lily with an eyebrow raised.

"I've been busy," said Felicia not wanting to elaborate on the subject.

"Doing what?" inquired Karen as she worked on her owl.

"Uh-nothing, really," hesitated Felicia as she quickly dove back into her bag to look for something and knocked over an ink bottle as she pulled the bag up to the table in the process. Karen, Andy, and Lily all noticed Felicia's strange behavior. After all the years they have known each other, they couldn't come up with any explanation as to why she was acting this way.

"What's up with her?" whispered Andy to Lily as continued to watch as Felicia kept glancing all around the common room avoiding her friends.

"I'm not sure," whispered Lily as pulled out a piece of parchment and began to finish off her potions essay.

On the other side of the common room sat none other than three of the Marauders: James, Sirius, and Peter. From a by passers perspective, it looked as if they were in a deep discussion over their Transfiguration homework. Their observation would only be partially correct…

"All right, so when do you want to try again?" whispered Sirius as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure that no one was eavesdropping.

"How about tomorrow? Since Pete here has almost got his transformation complete, we can then all try it together," said James as he readjusted his glasses. "That way we can see if we're ready to surprise Rem."

"Oh, he is going to freak when he finds out that we've become Animagi!" squealed Peter, to which Sirius gave him a hard elbow to the arm.

"_Keep your voice down!_" growled Sirius.

"Sorry," said Peter quickly as he rubbed his arm.

"When's the next full moon?" said Sirius turning back to James.

"Next week Friday. I figured we all could hide under the Invisibility cloak until we get to the Willow. Then Peter can transform and hit that knot on the tree. That way, we can slip into the tunnel, and then we'll surprise Moony," whispered James.

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Sirius with a grin as he brushed some of his hair out of his face.

"So were agreed then?" said James looking at his two friends. They both nodded in agreement. "Great. We'll meet in the Room of Requirement at ten. Umm…Pete I think you should go up to the room and start practicing again."

"Oh. O-okay. Man this is going to be great!" squealed Peter as he gathered his things and ran up to the boy's dormitories to practice turning into a rat.

"What a dork!" snorted Sirius to Peter's over enthusiasm of the situation. "The little berk looked like he was about to wet himself," he chuckled.

"Ah lay off the guy Padfoot. He means well. Besides if it wasn't for him, we won't be able to get to the tunnel," said James as he started to pack up some things.

"Yeah, but you got to admit," chuckled Sirius as he gave an eye toward the stairs. All James could do was shake his head and silently chuckle to himself as he stood up from the table.

"Well, I'm off. Got to go get some more practice time in before the Slytherin match."

"Right like you really need it?" said Sirius as he cocked an eyebrow.

"As a matter of fact I do," said James.

"Please! You're one of the best Seekers Hogwarts has seen in years. Plus the fact, we're going up against Slytherin. The moment their prat of a Seeker sees you, he'll fly in the other direction," said Sirius.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," chuckled James. "See ya later, mate."

"Later, Prongs," called Sirius as James made his way to the porthole. Seeing that he was now alone at the table, Sirius made an attempt to finish some of his homework. That is until his stomach started to growl.

'Oh darn! I guess I should feed you, ye?' thought Sirius glad to find an excuse to procrastinate his work. As Sirius got up he bent down to get his bag from the floor. While he was down there, he was met with a pair of feet standing right in front of him.

"Hi, Sirius," called a voice from above.

"Oh, hey…um Cami. How's it going?" said Sirius slightly taken back by the presence of the light brown haired, sixth year girl before him.

"Oh, I'm fine. How's Quidditch practice going?" said Cami as she tilted her head slight to get a better look at Sirius's pale grayish-blue eyes.

"Ah the same, I guess," shrugged Sirius.

"Well would you look at that," said Kelly as she stretched out her arms behind her.

"What?" said Karen as she looked up from her Transfiguration book.

"Isn't that Cami Lane?" inquired Felicia when she saw what Kelly was looking at.

"What about her?" said Andy not really seeing what the point was as she bent down under the table to retrieve her quill.

"Looks like she's talking to Sirius," said Karen.

"WHAT?" said Andy from under the table followed by the sound of her hitting her head against the table. "OW!"

"Andy are you okay?" said Lily as she saw her friend reappear rubbing the back of her head.

"Fine," winced Andy as she checked her hand to see if she was bleeding, which she wasn't. She looked across the common room to fine just what her friends had described. 'The great higher than thou' Sirius Black talking to brown-haired Cami Lane. "Who in their right mind would ever flirt with that loser?"

"Oh come on Andy. Not everyone thinks he's that bad," spat Felicia. Andy quickly looked across the table at her friend and raised her eyebrows in surprise at her friend's remark.

"Except me, of course," chuckled Felicia quickly to moment she realized what she said. As she continued to gaze at the two people conversing with each other across the room, an unexplained sensation seemed to be boiling up inside of her.

"Oh my…"she whispered to herself. "I can't believe it!" she said a little louder than she though she had. "He's flirting back!"

"Well what did you expect? Weren't you the one that said he thought he was 'the gods gift to women'?" said Andy, not quite sure what had sparked this sudden change in attitude for the boy they both considered their mortal enemy.

"Urgh! What a little…" spat a frustrated Felicia.

"Why do you care anyway, Felicia?" inquired Lily, have the same thoughts as Andy.

"I-I don't care about him!" answered Felicia quickly. "I care about Cami," she said in tone that she hoped would convince her friends. Three out of the four weren't really buying what she was saying at all. The other one, on the other hand, wasn't really paying attention at all. For some reason, Andy had some sort of glazed looked in her eyes that held a mischievous glint. Slowly an evil smirk crept up onto her face.

"What are you thinking about," said Felicia noticing her best friend's appearance.

"Hmm…oh! Nothing," said Andy nonchalantly.

"Andy?" said Felicia and Kelly wanting to press the matter further.

"Well…"she said slowly. "Why don't I show you," she said after a few moments as she quickly pulled out her wand and began to twirl it a bit. "I think its time for Mr. Black to cool down a bit before he gets a little _to excited_."

"What are you going to do?" said Karen slightly fearful and eager to know what was about to happen.

"Oh just a little thing called payback!" said Andy sweetly as she pointed her wand to her prey. She muttered a spell, but all they could make out was the first part of the spell: 'fresen'.

(Meanwhile…)

"So do you think you'll win the game against Slytherin this year," inquired Cami as she batted her eyelashes.

"Well, we'll try. But I have a pretty good feeling that we'll do fine," said Sirius with a wink. "We've got some of the best beaters, some pretty good chasers, and not to mention a heck of a seeker."

"Well, what about their keeper?" said Cami in a sassy tone.

"Ah, he's okay, I guess," answered Sirius not wanting to sound to cocky.

"Well, I think he's better than okay," replied Cami as she inched closer to Sirius. As she came closer, Sirius started to feel his heart rate rise a bit and a little bit hot under the collar.

"Oh look at that," stated Cami suddenly as she turned toward the bulletin board. "Hogsmeade weekends coming up soon."

"So it is," sighed Sirius relieved that she took a step back. But as she turned back toward him, Sirius started to have a strange sensation somewhere in the pit of his stomach. What happened next, was totally unexplainable to Sirius, for it seemed he had lost control of his tongue.

"Er-Cami, do you want to maybe hang…aaaahhhhhhhhh."

"Sirius?" said Cami, taken back at Sirius's sudden change. One second, he was standing before her, apparently trying to ask her out, and the next…he was hunched over grabbing his stomach and shivering.

"Is this some sort of joke?" spat Cami not knowing if this was some strange attempt to get out of not asking her out. All Sirius could seem to muster up was a chattering of teeth, followed by a few moans of pain.

"Fine be that way!" snorted Cami as she walked away while everyone in the common room stared at the strange scene before them. After few moments, Sirius unexpectedly heard the sound of laughter coming from a group of girls in the corner.

"You all right there, Blackie?" came a voice from behind him. Sirius turned around to find none other than Andy standing behind him with a weird sort of look upon her face.

"You look a little cold," stated Felicia, who was still sitting in her seat trying to stifle a fit of giggles.

"Fine," chattered Sirius as he tried to stand up a little bit more.

"Are you sure? I mean Felicia's right, you _do _look a little cold," said Andy with a smirk. All Sirius could do was grunt a little bit. "Well, I hope you do feel better. I'd hate to think that any of your um-_attachments _would be all shriveled up or anything like that."

At that precise moment, the realization of what had occurred hit Sirius like a ton of bricks. He stared at Andy in total and complete shock.

"Y-you? You little… you… you.. You." stuttered Sirius as new feeling started to rise to the surface of his skin…total and complete anger and hatred.

"Doth my ears deceive me, or has the impossible happened?" said Andy in a fake attempt to be shocked as she placed a hand over her heart.

"I believe so," said Kelly playing along with Andy.

"The great and all mighty, holier than thou, Sirius Black is actually _speechless_?" chuckled Andy.

"Oh, tragedy! Whatever shall we do?" muttered Lily.

"My friend is right, this is indeed a dreadful day," said Andy as she pretended to wipe away fake tears.

"Er- I'll get you for this Sparky," growled Sirius as he stormed up to the boy's dormitory.

"Yeah, yeah. That's what they all say," stated Andy as she walked back to her seat.

"What did you mean by 'any of your attachments '? What hex did you put on him?" said Karen.

"By the way he was bent over, it looked like his stomach was hurting," said Kelly.

"But he was shivering. Freezing charm?" said Lily to Andy.

"Yep, and you're close with the stomach…just a little farther south," said Andy with a grin and a chuckle.

"You didn't?" said Felicia with her mouth open in total shock and amazement.

"Where did you learn a charm like that?" inquired Kelly.

"My gran taught me that little charm over the summer. Along with a few other self defense charms," said Andy simply.

"You are evil," chuckled Felicia.

"I am not," said Andy in a mock hurt tone.

"You know I could give you detention for attacking a student," said Lily with a stern look on her face.

"Ah come on Lil. It's not like I hurt the guy that badly," said an amused Andy.

"You know one of these days, you are going to get yourself into a situation where your little antics and smart mouth aren't going to help you out of it," spat Lily.

"Well thank you Professor McGonagall," said Andy. Lily just glared at Andy for her remark. "Oh come on Lil. What's the point in doing magic if you can't have a little fun with it?"

"You call that fun?" said Lily, to which Andy simply nodded. "I think you have been spending to much time with Potter," she added as she went back to reading her book. Andy was about to say something, until Karen interrupted her.

"Hey Lily, how do you do that wand movement again?"

"So Andy, do you think you could teach me that charm?" whispered Felicia.

"Sure, no problem."

Later on that evening, James returned to his room after an exhausting and successful practice. When he entered in the dorm, he found Remus and Peter both sitting on their beds looking lost.

"Hey what's up guys?" said James as he began to take off his Quidditch robes.

"Ummm…well…" said Peter slowly as he glanced over to the closed door that led to the bathroom.

"What?" replied a perplexed James.

"Apparently, Sirius had a little run in with Andy, again," said Remus. Just then the door to the bathroom opened up with a cloud of steam pouring out, and out stepped Sirius who looked like he had just stepped out of the shower. From the look on his face, he apparently wasn't in a very good mood.

"Hey Sirius. Er-how's it going?" said James cautiously.

"How's it going? _HOW'S IT GOING!_" barked Sirius loudly. "Do you have any idea what that girl did to me?"

"Uh-no," said James honestly.

"Well let me be the one to tell you. That ex of yours put a freezing charm on my…"spat Sirius followed by a couple of calming breaths.

"Your what?" asked Remus, not quite sure where this was going.

"My…you know…er-my…" said Sirius as he nodded.

"What are you talking about," said James completely at a loss.

"What is the one part that a guy is the most attached too," said a frustrated Sirius.

"Attach too? What do…oh!" said James as the realization of what his best friend was getting at.

"She…"started Remus.

"Oh yeah, while I was talking to Cami Lane," said Sirius. All three of his friends looked upon him with their deepest sympathy and slightly painful expressions as to what it would feel like to have a numb attachment. But soon the painful looks turned to laughter that neither James, nor Peter, nor Remus could hold any longer.

"It's not funny!" stated Sirius.

"Well, when you think about it mate, it kinda is," chuckled James.

"Come on, Sirius. After what you did to her with the whole diary thing? You got to admit that it is a good form of payback," chuckled Remus uncontrollable.

"Look, I'll talk to her at dinner. Will that satisfy you?" said James noticing his best mates sour look.

"Sure…if you hex her into the middle of next week. No, on second thought I'd like to do it myself," growled Sirius.

"Calm down, mate," said James in surprise to his friend's reaction. Sure he's seen Sirius pissed off after one of Andy's little jokes, but this was entirely different for some reason.

At dinner that evening, James kept his word to Sirius. After having a few bites of his meal, James found where the blond haired witch that he considered to be his sister was sitting. Sure enough her two dark haired friends, and the auburn haired prefect that he had teased for years were surrounding her.

"Er-hey Star, can I have a word with you?" said James as he broke the conversation that she was having with Kelly and Lily.

"Sure, Jay," said Andy suspiciously. With that, the two Gryffindors walked silently out of the Great Hall into the Entrance Hall.

"What's up?" asked Andy the moment they were clear.

"Well I was kinda wondering if you could tell me why you placed a hex on my mate?" said James as he crossed his arms. Andy knew sooner or later she would have to have another one of these talks with James. Every time her and Sirius get into some sort of duel or fight, James or Remus are the ones to attempt to mend fences. _'Why does he continue to do this? It's not like we're one day going to be friends or anything,'_ thought Andy.

"What are you talking about?" said Andy playing the 'dumb blond' routine. "I didn't put a hex on Remus."

"Andy?" replied James with an eyebrow raised as if he were her older brother.

"He looked a little warm. I was helping him out," said Andy giving in to her crime. James continued to stare at her suspiciously.

"Oh come on! He was talking to Cami Lane, of all people," said Andy as if it were obvious why she put the charm on him.

"So?" stated James not seeing where this was going.

"Jay, it's common knowledge that Cami is a total flirt and will date any guy. Even Blackie."

"What has that got to do with any.."

"Oh James, do you really expect me to believe that your best mate would want to go on a date?" questioned Andy.

"He might have," said James wondering how he got into this type of conversation.

"Please! You should have seen the look on his face. He was terrified. Heck if anything he should be thanking me, for doing that little favor for him," chuckled Andy.

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"James, think about. When was the last time you or anyone have ever seen him talk to a girl? And I'm not talking about teasing or getting into arguments with," said Andy as she crossed her arms. James stopped and contemplated her question. He never really thought about who his best mate talked to.

"Uhh…" stated James trying to come up with an answer.

"Exactly. You can't even think of one, because I don't even think he ever has. The guy is afraid!"

"How do you even know that?" said James at a loss.

"Yeah how do you know that?" said a voice from behind James. He turned around to find Sirius standing behind him looking bewildered and slightly angry.

"Oh great," sighed Andy.

"Well come on, Sparky. How do you know that I'm afraid of your kind? Huh?"

"Geez you know what, forget it. Just forget I even said anything," said Andy not really wanting to deal with Sirius along with James.

"No I think I deserve an answer," said Sirius in an annoyed tone.

"Why? What does it matter to you what I think?"

"Just answer the question," said Sirius.

"Fine. Well for starters you calling girls 'that kind' or 'your kind' doesn't really help. Two, when you were talking to Ms. Lane, you wouldn't even look her directly in the face, even though you are suppose to be this 'Ladies Man'. And third, every time you do even come into contact with a girl, you brush them off, or tease them. I mean, what's up with that?"

"Hold on a second, there. What makes you think that I always brush them off or tease them?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because you always do, and have been ever since I met you," spat Andy.

"Okay let's get some things straight here," said Sirius as he advanced on Andy.

"Padfoot," said James giving a Sirius a warning look.

"Padfoot?" giggled Andy.

"No, James she said her piece now it's my turn. Look just because I don't go chasing after girls or go up to them and strike up a conversation with them, doesn't mean that I'm afraid of them. I have better things to do than spend time with some girl who could be sweet one minute and a total basket case the next. Besides after know you as long as I have, why should I even bother too talk to girls if they're like _you_," spat Sirius.

"Hey, newsflash. Not everyone is like me," said Andy.

"Why don't you stop interfering with other people's business? Maybe then you'll learn not to pass judgment on people," said Sirius coolly as he turned on his heals and stormed back to dinner.

"Yeah well maybe if some people didn't always attempt to ruin my life, I wouldn't!" screamed Andy. "What?" she said as she saw James giving her a semi-dirty look.

"Nothing, Andy. I didn't say anything," said James.

"Yeah sure. So now I suppose you'll have a go now?" said Andy as she crossed her arms.

"You already know what I'm going to say," said James.

"Fine! Take his side then," yelled Andy.

"I'm not taking anyone's side here. All I want is for two of my friends to get along with each other," said James innocently.

"Look Potter, you can keep on dreaming because it will never happen," said Andy. With that she turned around and headed toward the grand staircase to Gryffindor tower.

"Andy! Andy come on!" called James at the retreating witch. "Great! Why do I even try to bother with those two," he said to himself as he started to follow Andy.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Potter," said a voice from behind James. He turned around and was met by a pair of bright green eyes glaring at him. Suddenly that all to familiar feeling started to creep up on James.

"Evans? W-what are you doing here?" stuttered James.

"I came to check on my friend, after I saw Sirius follow you two out here. I assume they got into another row?" said Lily.

"Yeah, I think I should start to give up on them," said James as he started to mess with his hair.

"Why do you even bother anyways? You know they can't stand each other," stated Lily.

"Is it a crime to want two of my friends to get along with each other?" said James with a grin.

"Give it up, Potter. You're fighting a losing battle," said Lily.

"Maybe I just like a challenge," said James brightly.

"Or maybe you've been hit in the head with a Bludger one too many times," said Lily coolly.

"What's that suppose to mean?" inquired James.

"Just leave Andy alone, alright. She doesn't like Sirius, and if you keep hounding her, it's not going to help. Just let sleeping dogs lie," said Lily in a matter of fact tone.

"Why do you care anyways?"

"Because Andy is my best friend and I'm tired of you forcing her into something she doesn't want to do! Gods it's no wonder why you are so thick headed," exasperated Lily, "you never take other people's feelings into consideration."

"Hey I resent that!" said James.

"Oh please. The only reason why you want them to get alone is so that you can get something out of it. You're only out for one person's welfare and that's James Potter's," said Lily hotly.

"I am not. You don't know a thing about me!" said James.

"Oh why don't you grow up," said Lily coldly, as she turned around and headed back into the Great Hall, leaving James all lone in the Entrance Hall stewing in his own anger.

__

'Who does she think she is? Is it so wrong to not have to listen to two of my friends constantly arguing with each other?' thought James trying to figure out what had happen.

"What is it with her?" said James out loud to know in particular.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** All right I hate to tell ya, but I don't own Harry Potter or the gang. That honor goes to J.K. Rowling. I only own this story and the characters I made up. In other words, you want money…talk to her cuz I don't have any.


	9. Gryffindor vs Slytherin Battle

****

Days in Avalon

Chapter Nine: Gryffindor/ Slytherin Battle

For the next couple of days, tension was running high in the Gryffindor tower. But not only was there tension felt within the house, but in other parts of the castle as well. They Gryffindor/Slytherin match was fast approaching. Small fights had broken out throughout the school leading to a hefty load of points taken away, detentions each night for the next two months, and half of the hospital wing filled with victims of hexes that had gone wrong. But that all ended at the end of the week…

On Saturday morning, the entire Gryffindor team was awakened by their captain's shouts. Braden Wood, a seventh year, burly Gryffindor trampled into the fifth year dormitories with his hair in slight disarray, already wearing his Quidditch robes.

"Potter! Black! Come on get up mates!" said Braden as he pulled the curtains on each of the boy's beds and yelled in their ears.

"Oy, Wood! It's not even six o'clock yet," groaned James as he glanced at the clock on his stand with sleepy eyes.

"Get up! Come on. Everyone else is up," said Wood cheerfully as he clapped his hands and started to rub them together with a mad glint in his eyes.

"Sod off, mate," yawned Sirius as rolled over in his bed and pulled the blankets closer to him.

"I'm not having tow of my best players sleeping in on one of the biggest matches of the year! NOW GET YOUR SORRY CARCASSES UP!" roared Wood as he stormed out of the room and down the stairs to the common room.

"Fine," whined James as he sat up in his bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Come on, Padfoot," he yawned as he grabbed his glasses from his nightstand and got out of bed. He noticed that both Remus and Peter were still in bed snoring away. '_Lucky blokes_,' he thought.

"Wake me in five minutes," muttered Sirius as he started to fall back into a warm sleep.

"Hey," said James as he picked up a pillow and threw at Sirius. "Do I look like your mother, or your house elf? Get your arse up!"

"You know if you hunched over a bit more, wore more of a scowl look, and began muttering incoherently…then yeah you could be me house elf," replied Sirius with his eyes still closed and a grin on his face. Suddenly, Sirius had the strangest sensation that he was sliding down his bed. Soon he found himself sprawled out on the floor looking up at James who had his wand pointing at Sirius's now inclined bed.

"Snob," stated James jokingly as he returned Sirius's bed to the floor and made his way to the bathroom.

About ten minutes later both James and Sirius made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, joking around with each other, hoping to get their minds off the game for a little bit. Once they entered the hall, they found that most of the team was already seated at the table. Bill Lakewood, dark haired sixth year, and Larry Kelsworth, another sixth year, were both trying to suppress yawns as they made a feeble attempt to eat something, while ignoring Wood's babbling. As soon as James and Sirius took their seats they saw that the rest of the team was now coming in. Robin Hudson, a tall fourth year girl, walked in to the hall looking as if she would fall asleep on her feet, followed by Andy who didn't look any better. Her long blond hair that was usually in a neat ponytail, now had to appearance as if she had just rolled out of bed and put it in a sloppy do. As the two girls stumbled to the table, they all noticed the dark circles under each of the girl's eyes.

"Whoa! Talk about the living dead," muttered Sirius. James and the other two boys couldn't help but snicker at their teammates remark. Unfortunately for them, both of the girls heard the remark as well.

"Watch it Blackie! You don't want to get me started this early in the morning," growled Andy as she stared daggers at the team keeper. Sirius simply sneered at her and stuck out his tongue at her.

"Oh real mature, there Black! What are you? Three?" spat Andy as she continued to glare at her nemesis.

"All right! THAT'S ENOUGH!" bellowed Wood as he pounded his fist into the table. "I don't want to hear any insults coming from either one of you today, unless they are directed at the Slytherins. Got it? You two are on the same team for Merlin's sake! For once could you put your petty differences aside and focus on being a team? Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah," nodded Sirius taken back at his captain's outburst.

"Yes. Sorry Wood," nodded Andy as she started to wake up a bit more. With that, Wood took his seat and began to pour himself a glass of juice.

"Kiss up," muttered Sirius under his breath as he grabbed a piece of toast. The entire team, including James gave the keeper a harsh glare that spoke the phrase, 'Don't push your luck mate.' With the spell of silence that spilled over the team, Sirius looked up to see the team's look. "Mhat?" said Sirius through a mouth full of food. Everyone just simply rolled their eyes and went back to their pervious conversations.

"Come on Jay. You got to eat something," said Andy as she noticed that James had touched anything on his plate.

"Are you talking to me?" spat James as he turned to his left look at the blond haired witch sitting next to him. Andy sighed in defeat and looked down to the floor. (_'Should have know that would happen.')_

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened. I guess I did go a little too far. I didn't mean to go all mental on you," said Andy hoping that her friend would accept her apology. She truly did regret blowing up at James the other day in the hall. She knew that he was just trying to be helpful, but sometimes she just wondered why he couldn't just accept the fact that she just didn't get along with his best mate.

"You know, you'd think after four years of knowing you I'd become immune to the sad puppy look," sighed James as he wrapped his arm around Andy's shoulders and gave her a one armed hug. Andy couldn't help but smile at the gesture.

"Can you pass me the juice, please," she asked as James made a feeble attempt to eat something.

"I suppose. If it's a necessity," said James in a mock annoyance tone. "You know, I reckon I should give up on you two," he added as he handed over the juice pitcher.

"Really?" said a very shocked Andy. "What brought this change about?"

"I guess I realized that I just can't win. I'm mean how long has it been now? Three years? And I still haven't been able to get you two to even act civil to each other for more than a minute."

"Some people might consider that even a miracle," chuckled Andy jokingly.

"I'm serious here. A bloke can only deal with so much," said James.

"Oookay," was all Andy could really say.

"What are you going on about?" said Sirius who had been listening in on the conversation. "You never give up on anything."

"Well I thought there was a first time for everything," said James simply.

"Alright who are you and what have you done with me best mate," said Sirius.

"What? There is nothing wrong with me," stated James in a matter of fact tone.

"Really?" said Sirius as he cocked an eyebrow. "Because up until a few days ago you were hell bent on making me get along with the little princess."

"Yeah well, I changed my mind. You got a problem with it, Black?" spat James.

"Whoa…easy Prongs. Personally I'm grateful for the let up, really. I'm just wondering is all," said Sirius in defense. '_I think he's been hanging around Sparky a little to much.'_

For the remainder of breakfast, the entire Gryffindor team sat in silence picking at the food that was on their plates. Every now and then, Wood would encourage his team to eat something, but never really heeded his own advice. Pretty soon, most of Gryffindor house came down for breakfast, eager for the upcoming match. Lily, Felicia, and Kelly came down to breakfast along with the rest of the house, and spotted the team sitting at the far end of the table 'eating' in silence. They thought better of going over and talking to their friend who seemed off in her own little world. They knew that their roommate didn't get much sleep the previous night. During the night they could hear her tossing and turning while muttering something in her sleep. Lily's heart went out to her best friend. She never really understood nor cared for Quidditch that much, but she went in support for her house and her friend.

"My don't they look all chipper this morning," said Felicia as she sat down and grabbed a muffin.

"You think they're nervous about the game?" said Kelly. As the girls looked down the table, they could see Larry muttering something while he buttered his hand and Robin was rocking back and forth while absentmindedly biting her nails.

"No, I don't think they're nervous," said Lily. "Petrified would be a better word."

About ten minutes later, Wood stood up and announced it was time to go. The entire team got up and walked solemnly through the hall while three fourths of the hall broke out into shouts of 'Good Luck!' and 'Knock 'em dead'. As they passed the Slytherin table, hisses and taunts poured out of each of students mouths like wildfire.

"Hope you don't fall off your broom there, Potter! Wouldn't want Slytherin to win on the account of your oversized head," spat Severus as James walked by. Robin and Braden quickly pushed James along not giving him time to retaliate against Snape's remark. Both Sirius and Andy tried to repress the urge to knock that smirk off Snivellus's face.

When the team got to the locker room, everyone quickly changed out of their school robes and into their Quidditch gear. They grabbed their brooms and sat on the benches waiting for Wood's annual pep talk. The team only half-heartedly listened to their captain, while trying to suppress the thoughts of what could happen during the game. The last time Gryffindor and Slytherin met, it was one of the bloodiest matches in Hogwarts history. Although Gryffindor did win, most of the team had to stay in the hospital for an entire week. Larry had received a bludger to the head and few broken ribs, four minutes into the game, while Bill suffered a nasty blow to the back that caused him to fall almost thirty feet. Robin received a mild concussion, while Andy suffered a broken arm and leg after the Slytherin beater pushed her off her broom when she scored one of the final goals in the match. But the one who endured worst of it all was James. After he had caught the snitch, Lucius Malfoy, the Slytherin seeker, kicked James square in the face, braking his glasses and nose. James then fell about forty or fifty feet in the air and broke some ribs, both his legs, and his collarbone. He was unconscious for an entire week, and couldn't remember exactly what happened after he caught the snitch.

"We've got one of the best team's in Hogwarts history sitting right here. Sure the last time we met up with the Slytherins we got a little beaten up. But thanks to James's spectacular grab, we came out victorious. Now here we are again, and I know that we're ready for them this time. With all the practice sessions we've had, we're set for what ever those wankers are willing to dish out. We've got two great beaters who have never let us down," said Wood as he motioned to Larry and Bill.

"A keeper who is quick with his blocks," he said as he nodded toward where Sirius was standing.

"Not to mention two wonder chasers," he said as he motioned and beamed toward the two girls, "who've have definitely proven that they can handle their own." At this remark, both Robin and Andy couldn't help but blush a bit.

"And of course a seeker, who has more heart and determination than I've ever seen in anyone. We've bleed, we've trained, and we've pushed ourselves to the limits. Now is our time to shine. Let's go out there and show the school what we're really made of. Are you with me?" shouted Wood.

"Yeah!" said Robin and Andy together.

"Let's get 'em," said Bill and James.

"We'll knock those bloody buggers socks off," said Sirius. With that the team, jumped up and made their way to the field.

Once inside the stadium, James saw that three quarters of the stadium was covered in red and gold, while the other quarter was covered in green and silver. As he looked to the stands, he saw Remus and Peter holding a banner that read 'Go Gryffindor' and had a large lion on it that occasionally let out a thunderous roar. Sitting in the row just above them we're the girls. Felicia, Karen, and Kelly were all huddling close together while screaming along with the rest of the crowd. Lily on the other hand just simply sat there reading a large book.

__

'Who brings a book to one of the biggest games of the year?'

When he looked at the other end of the field, he saw that the Slytherin team had just arrived. As the two teams, and the new teacher Madam Hooch, came to the center of the field, Madam Hooch order the two captains to shake hands. Wood simply glared at Lucius Malfoy, who was also a seventh year and grabbed his hand hard. From the look of it, it seemed to everyone that Wood and Malfoy were attempting to break the bones in each other's hands. The moment Madam Hooch had ordered everyone to mount their brooms, Andy shouted something to James.

"Hey James, good luck, and please be careful," she said with worry in her eyes and voice as visions of last years match flooded her mind.

"I'll be fine," he said as with a charming grin. "Just you be careful about yourself," he added in an attempt to sound like a big brother. Andy simply rolled her eyes and scowled at James's words. She hated being treated like some fragile little thing, and the fact that he was trying to act older when she's about half a year older than him.

Once everyone was in place, Madam Hooch released the Bludgers and Snitch. As soon as she tossed the Quaffle into the air, the game began…

"And there off," screamed Parker Jordan, the official game commentator. "Wood catches the Quaffle and passes it to Hudson. Hudson dodges Flint. What a little bugger, thinking he could out run her. Oh, no! Hudson looses the Quaffle, knock out of her hand by a bludger from Davis. Ahh, but Starmenter regains control of the Quaffle and now is speeding toward the goal. Come on Andy! She passes it to Wood and… HE SCORES! Gryffindor leads 10 to nothing."

A loud thunderous wave of cheers erupted from the stands deafening the boos and hisses coming from the Slytherin end.

"WAY TO GO WOOD! All right, Flint now has possession of the Quaffle, he throws it to Baggins. Baggins flies up the middle of the field dodging Starmenter and Wood's attempts to knock the Quaffle out of his hand. He passes Nott. Nott beats Hudson and rolls away from a Bludger from Kelsworth. It's just him and Black now, and…HE DID IT! Sirius Black stops Nott's attempt to tie," shouted Jordan as he jumped up and down next to McGonagall.

From up above, James had a bird's eye view of the action going on in the game. He saw when Sirius caught the Quaffle with one hand and chucked it back toward Wood. He gave his friend a thumb's up who responded with the same gesture. As James returned to the game, he learned that Andy now had possession of the Quaffle and was going one on one with the Slytherin keeper. He watched as she dodged with easy at the attempts the Slytherins were throwing at her. As soon as she was in range, she faked the keeper and threw the Quaffle into the right hoop, giving Gryffindor the lead of 20 to nothing.

Across the way, James could hear Malfoy cursing his team for letting the goal get threw. As soon as James saw the state Malfoy was in, an idea popped in his head.

James circled the field a couple of times in an attempt to try to find the Snitch. As he looked around, there was no sign of the blasted thing anywhere. The moment James knew that Malfoy was watching him, he decided to dive toward the ground to make Malfoy think that he saw the Snitch. It worked. Malfoy quickly threw himself on to his broom and sped after James. While this was going on, Sirius saw his friend suddenly dive quickly to the ground. 'He can't have found the Snitch this soon in the game,' he thought.

At the same time, Andy also saw James's dive from the corner of her eye. She quickly looked around in the area that he dove, and couldn't see the Snitch anywhere. Suddenly he had a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. 'Gods, please don't make him do anything stupid.'

From the stands, everyone saw the dive as well and were curious as to what the seeker was up too.

"What's he doing?" said Felicia.

"There's no way he could have spotted that thing already. It's not even ten minutes into the game," said Karen.

"Probably just showing off or something," said Lily in a monotone voice as she continued to read her book.

As James plunged toward the ground, Malfoy sped up and was soon neck and neck with James. But at that particular moment, Malfoy realized that he had been had when he didn't see the Snitch anywhere in sight. Just when it looked like they would crash, James quickly pulled out of the dive and merely brushed the ground lightly as he rose back into the air. As for Lucius, he was unable to pull off such a spectacular task and ended up crashing into the ground. James hovered just a few feet above Malfoy and gave him one of his famous evil grins.

"That was for last year," he said before he retook his place in the air and began to look for the Snitch again.

"Way to go, James!" barked Sirius for the Gryffindor end of the field.

__

'What a bloody **idiot**,' thought Andy as she gained control of the Quaffle again and set off toward the other end of the field. Just as she passed Malfoy getting on his broom again, she noticed the dangerous mad glint in his blue eyes. '_Uh-oh_.'

thought Andy as she gained control of the Quaffle again and set off toward the other end of the field. Just as she passed Malfoy getting on his broom again, she noticed the dangerous mad glint in his blue eyes. '.'

While James was looking for the Snitch, he caught a glimpse of Andy scoring another goal for the team. The score was now 40-nothing. After Andy's goal, the Slytherins called for a time out. As the Gryffindors came back down to the ground, everyone huddled together trying to catch their breath. The moment James entered the huddle, he received a hard hand to the back of his head from Andy.

"OW! Hey what was that for?" he asked her as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Do you want to get yourself killed?" she spat at him. "What were you thinking, taking on Malfoy like that?"

"Just a little pay back is all," winced James.

"Star's right there, Potter. Although that was a pretty good pay back, you shouldn't have done that. Now they're probably going to be gunning for you more now than before," said Wood.

"Hey, don't worry about me, alright. I'll be fine," protested James.

"I'm not taking any chances here, Potter. Bill, Larry, I want you two to keep an eye out for Potter, got it," said Wood with authority.

"Sure Wood," chimed Bill.

"Just let one of those lousy gits, come near him," replied Larry. At that moment, Madame Hooch blew her whistle signaling everyone to get back into position.

As soon as the game restarted, it was a whole different game. The Slytherins were merciless against the Gryffindors after the short break. The Slytherin chasers were practically clawing and pulling at the Gryffindor chasers in order to regain control of the Quaffle. Bludgers seemed to come out of nowhere every time one of the Gryffindor chasers came near the Slytherin hoops. As Robin thought she had managed to get passed the new blockade, a Bludger from Lestrange hit her in the back, knocking the wind out of her for a bit.

As soon as Robin dropped the Quaffle, Flint caught the ball and sped away toward the Gryffindor end.

"And Flint gets control of the Quaffle. He's speeding up the field, like a rocket. Come on you guys get that nasty little pri…"

"JORDAN! If you can't saying anything nice, then don't say anything at all, or I'll take that thing away!" yelled Professor McGonagall.

"Sorry Professor, but it's the truth. OH NO! Flint was able to get pass Black. The score is now 40-10," shouted Parker. The game continued to go from bad to worst for the Gryffindors. They managed to score three more times after Flint's goal tying the score at 40. By this time, most of the team was battered and bruised from the offense the Slytherins were dishing out. The only one on the team that didn't seem that hurt was James. He stayed high above the game, watching helplessly as his teammates were getting crushed. He began to franticly search for the Snitch in order to end the game. Just when he caught a glimpse of the tiny gold ball, James pelted after it as fast as he could. As soon as he came into range with the Snitch, Malfoy bull rushed James and knocked him off course and almost of his broom. At that point, Madame Hooch called for a penalty shot, which Robin took and put the team ahead 50-40.

Once James had regained some of his of his composure, he set off again in search of the winged ball. This time he caught sight of it near the Gryffindor hoops. James went sailing across, desperate to get to it, with Malfoy in toe. As Andy and Wood went chasing after Nott with the Quaffle, they noticed what Malfoy and James were doing. They both saw Lucius give some sort of hand signal to the Slytherin beaters as they came into position.

"They're going to attack him," said Andy fearfully to herself.

"BILL! LARRY! WATCH HIM!" screamed Wood as he went after Baggins. At that split second, Andy thought up an idea. As soon as she was near her team's goals, she flew low and waited for James and Malfoy to get near the hoops. When she saw them closing in, she shot up into the air quickly as if to block Baggins attempt to score, but she didn't. She kept rising into the air until she was almost level with James and Malfoy. As soon as she reached their altitude, James had already passed her, and was now stretching out his hand to make a grab at the Snitch. At the same time, Malfoy quickly veered off course to avoid colliding into Andy. When she that her plan had worked, she quickly dove back down to the ground behind the hoops.

While this was going on, Baggins tried for a goal, but was stopped by Sirius. As soon as he saw Malfoy in his range, as he veered off his course to avoid a collision, Sirius took the Quaffle and pelted it at Malfoy, hitting him in the side of the head.

"Sorry. Wind took," spat Sirius with a grin as Malfoy glared daggers at him.

Meanwhile, James was oblivious to what had just occurred. As he neared the Snitch, it started fly toward the other end of the stadium. He circled round and made another attempted at get close to it. As he Snitch grew closer and closer, so did Malfoy who was now at James's heels again. Soon they were neck and neck again, fighting to get to the Snitch first, some forty or fifty feet in the air.

At the same time, Andy had caught the Quaffle again, and shot up the field again for the hundredth time. As she neared the hoops, she saw the three chasers standing side-by-side getting ready to block her. As she looked below her, she saw Wood open, and dropped the Quaffle down to him. Wood then flew under the three chasers and scored another goal for Gryffindor. Mostly everyone in the stands had missed the goal, saved for a few people. Everyone else was staring at the two seekers, including Lily.

"Potter and Malfoy are neck and neck. They're both in close rang with the Snitch and…COME ON JAMES KNOCK HIM OFF HIS BROOM! Sorry Professor, and… HE DID IT! POTTER CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS! 210-40!"

The moment James landed on the ground, Bill, Larry, and Sirius came piling on to him, while Robin and Andy jumped up and down screaming "WE WON!"

"That a boy Potter," beamed Wood.

"Hey Andy!" called Kelly and Lily. As soon as Andy turned around, her four friends crowded around her and had a big group hug. After a few moments, they broke and went on congratulating everyone. As James neared Lily, he felt that familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Congratulations, Potter," said Lily simply with a nod.

"Uh, thanks, Evans," said James as he ran his hand through his already messed up hair, right when Remus and Peter made their way to where their friends were.

"Hey way to go mates," said Remus as Sirius came up from behind James.

"Thanks, Moony," said James.

"Hey Sparky!" called Sirius when he recognized the back of the blond girl standing next to Lily.

"What?" said Andy, ready for some snide remark.

"Not bad," he said with a smirk.

"Excuse me?" replied Andy, utterly shock and take back at Sirius's remark. _'Is he giving me a compliment?'_

"You were…pretty good," said Sirius with some difficulty.

"Really?" said a skeptical Andy, not really sure if he was telling the truth or not. After a few moments, she realized that he wasn't playing some kind of joke. "You weren't half bad your self, Blackie," she said trying to sound somewhat sincere. With that and a nod, Sirius was then pulled away by some of the other members of the team.

"Don't get any idea's, Jay. He's still a prat to me," said Andy as she noticed the slight smile on her friend's face as he witnessed their attempt to be civilized.

"I wasn't going to say anything," said James honestly. "I heard from Larry, that I owe you a thank you for getting Malfoy off my tail for a bit."

"Don't mention it. Heck you would have done the same," said Andy.

"True," added James as he pulled her into a one armed hug.

"Hey James! Star! Party in the common room," called Wood as he wrapped an arm around Kelly and Robin.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing. It's all J.K. Rowling, now get off my back.


	10. Marauders Midnight Ride

****

Days in Avalon

Chapter Ten: Marauders Midnight Ride

Gryffindor tower was still on a high the Quidditch victory the pervious week. All the students couldn't stop talking about the game, expect for the ones who actually played in it. Most of the team was getting pretty tired of the recap of the recap of the recap. Finally most of their housemates took the hint and started to come up with other topics of discussion. By Friday evening, things were almost back to normal.

That evening in the common room, after a long day of classes, Felicia and Lily remained in the common room going over some things. Felicia was off in a corner scanning and scribbling things down frantically for one of her classes, while Lily stood near the fireplace practicing some sort of charm. As she made another attempt to conjure her spell, she, along with Felicia were interrupted by a blond fifth year coming down the stairs singing…

__

Oooh _What you want_

Baby, I got

What you need  
Do you know I got it?  
All I'm askin'  
Is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit)  
Hey baby (just a little bit) when you get home  
(just a little bit) mister (just a little bit)

I ain't gonna do you wrong while you're gone  
Ain't gonna do you wrong (oo) 'cause I don't wanna (oo)  
All I'm askin' (oo)  
Is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit)  
Baby (just a little bit) when you get home (just a little bit)  
Yeah (just a little bit)

R-E-S-P-E-C-T  
Find out what it means to me  
R-E-S-P-E-C-T  
Take care, TCB

Oh (sock it to me, sock it to me,  
sock it to me, sock it to me)  
A little respect (sock it to me, sock it to me,  
sock it to me, sock it to me)  
Whoa, babe (just a little bit)  
A little respect (just a little bit)

"Thank you Miss Motown," replied Lily with a slight grin.

"Not a problem," said Andy as she took a seat on the couch.

"What are you so cheerful about?" asked Felicia as she frantically sorted through her notes, slightly annoyed to see someone in a good mood.

"Is it a crime to sing a song just because I feel like singing it?"

"She's just glad that she passed McGonagall's test," said Lily while she was trying to figure out what she was doing wrong with the spell.

"Heck yeah! Do you know how long it took me to learn that blasted spell? I'm serious the woman hates me," said Andy.

"She does not. Quite exaggerating," said Lily as she looked directly at Andy.

"Says the teacher's pet," remarked Andy with a grin. Lily couldn't help but smile at her friend's tease.

"What do you have there?' asked Lily as she noticed Andy beginning to read some sort of note.

"Huh? Oh, it's just a letter from my Gran," said Andy not looking up from the parchment.

"What's she say?"

"Oh, the usual same old things. 'Quite goofing around in class. Study hard. Quite antagonizing our house mates even if they are being a bunch of gits.' Nothing to extraordinary," said Andy nonchalantly.

"Well, that's nice that she wrote to you," said Lily as she looked over her notes for something.

"Yeah I guess," said Andy half-heartedly to which Lily gave her a quizzical look.

"I mean don't get me wrong. I love the woman, it's just that…urgh," she sighed in frustration. "I'd just wish she's get off my case. I just want to have a little bit of fun and the woman acts like it's the end of the world. I mean what does she want? Blood?" said Andy getting a little riled up.

"She's just looking out for you is all," said Lily trying to bring some comfort.

"I guess. But she could lay off for a while. I mean she's acting like she's going to die or something, and I have to take care of everything."

"Well, it's possible. I mean your grandmother will go sometime in the future."

"Please! The woman is like 400 years old! If she hasn't died yet, then she not going to," said Andy in a matter of fact tone.

"What ever you say," said Lily turning back to her pervious task. Just then, the portrait swung open and a small of group of third year boys came bolting in and ran up the stairs to the boy's dorm. Among the group was Andy's younger brother Jason.

"Whoa! Where's the fire, Jas," said Andy as she quickly grabbed a hold on her younger sibling.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" replied Lily with concern in her voice.

"Can't…talk. Gotta…hide…before…they…catch…me," breathed Jason as tried to catch his breath and started to make a brake for the stairs. Unfortunately Lily conjured a charm that pulled him back to where the two girls were standing.

"Now what was that again?" chimed Lily.

"Come on Lil. Sis please tell her to let me go," pleaded Jason as part of his dirty blond hair fell into his eyes.

"Why should I?" said Andy simply, teasing him just to spite him.

"Because they'll catch us!" shouted Jason, desperate to get away.

"What? Catch who? Who's chasing you?" said Andy clueless as to what he was talking about.

"The Marauders! They're going to kill me!" screamed Jason as if it were obvious.

"Why would they want to hurt you?" said Lily.

"Jason…what did you do?" replied Andy giving him the look (The one that states 'Alright little brother, what kind of trouble have you caused now?'), while folding her arms across her chest.

"W-we played a prank on them," said Jason staring down at the floor.

"You what?" said a shocked Lily.

"Okay this is interesting. What exactly did you do that would cause the biggest pranksters in the school want to harm you?" inquired Andy. Jason opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it as if he thought better of it. Instead, he dug into his robes and pulled out a vile that was half way filled with an aqua colored powder.

"Is that what I think it is?" said Lily in slight state of shock.

"You used my Pinocchio powder on them?" said Andy in a tone that was mixed with anger and amazement that her little brother could pull such a thing on them.

"Yes," said Jason as he shuffled his feet together not taking his eyes off a certain spot on the floor.

"Jason how in the hell did you get a hold of this," asked Andy as she grabbed the vile out of his hands.

"Andy don't use profanity," said Lily.

"I snuck it out of your trunk before we left home," said Jason looking up at Andy, hoping she wouldn't blow her top.

"You did what!" said Andy slightly miffed to hear her brother had gone through her things without her permission. The three of them could now here the Marauders outside the portrait yelling as they came down the hallway.

"Andy please!" plead Jason now extremely desperate to get away. Andy stared at him for a moment and caved in to his plea.

"Go on. I'll deal with them," she sighed.

"Thank you!" breathed Jason loudly as he quickly made his way up the stairs. As the boys neared, Lily and Andy went back to their original positions before Jason and his friend came in.

"I can't wait to give them detention," said Lily under her breath, a little eager to finally use her prefect powers on the group. She'd been trying to get them at least once, but they always seemed to be one step ahead of her.

"Lily, don't do a thing. He's my brother and the Marauders I can deal with," stated Andy as she picked up her letter again and made it look like she was reading it again. Andy knew fully well that James and the rest of the group would never really harm anyone. Sure lots of younger students tried to get them. But when a group got really close, the Marauders would first want to scare them a bit before congratulating them on a good attempt.

Just then, the portrait swung open and in walked James, Sirius and Peter with scowls on their faces. Everyone in the common room at that time tried hard not to laugh at the three boys with extremely long snouts that kept wiggling and bouncing every time they'd move their heads.

"Evening boys. What's up?" said Andy cheerfully trying to contain a laugh that wanted to escape. She made a mental note to congratulate her brother and his friends on a job well done, and beamed a little bit of pride for teaching him how to pull off a great prank.

"Where are they?" growled James.

"Who?" asked Lily raising an eyebrow to the three of them. James hadn't noticed Lily standing there. But when he did, he felt that now familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach and instantly ruffled up his hair even more.

"Your brother," said Peter trying to sound cool.

"What about him?" said Andy playing the 'I-have-no-clue-of-what-you're-getting-at' act.

"We want to talk to him," said James simply trying to avoid Lily's gaze.

"Sorry, don't know where he is. Lil?" stated Andy.

"Sorry," said Lily shrugging her shoulders.

"What's this about anyways," asked Andy, acting all business like.

"Issues," spat Sirius taking a step forward and looking down on Andy as she sat on the couch with her legs tucked under.

"Don't point that thing at me, Blackie," retorted Andy taking her finger and pushing Sirius's long nose out of her personal space.

"All we just want is to have a little chat with the bloke, is all," said James with a slight grin playing on his lips.

"Hmmm…chat," said Andy thoughtfully, making the boys think that she was considering telling them something. "Well I could tell you where he is, but…then again…I won't." She finished the last part in a matter of fact tone and went back to reading her letter.

"Why?" said all three of them flabbergasted.

"Because I don't want to have to hex you for flogging my brother. Although, I'd make an exception for Blackie here," stated Andy sweetly. Sirius was about to spout a comeback line, but James raised his hand to stop anything before it started.

"Actually…" started James now knowing that it was no use to continue on, "we wanted to just scare him a bit."

"Really?" said a skeptically Lily with her arms folded.

"Yeah," said Sirius in defeat. "Got to admit the little buggers got us pretty good," he stated while pointing to the third years work.

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear it," said Andy with a smirk. "Just do me a favor and don't scare him too much. Otherwise long noses aren't going to be the only thing you'll have to worry about."

With that the three pranksters made their way to the staircase that led to the boy's dormitories. When the reach the steps James suddenly stopped causing the other two to crash into him a bit.

"Uh…Star?" said James timidly.

"Hmm?" said Andy looking over to where the boys were.

"Little help here?" he said as he pointed to his hexed nose. Andy cocked an eyebrow and gave him a skeptical look before she pulled out her wand and muttered the counter curse. Once their noses had shrunk back to their original state, the three of them continued on up the staircase.

"YOUR WELCOME!" shouted Andy after them. "Boys," she muttered and she rolled her eyes and picked up the book that she had also brought down with her, while Lily went back to trying to figure out her charm.

About five or ten minutes later, Lily was once again becoming agitated with the charm and ended up causing a vase to float in the air and smash to the ground.

"Urgh, why can't I get this hex right?" said a distraught Lily.

"What are you trying to do Lil," asked Andy as she turned a page in her book.

"I'm trying to do that hex Professor Corinthos showed us today. You know, the one where you freeze the person for a few seconds giving you enough time to get away, and then once the curse wears off he or she is sent flying through the air," said Lily as she went over to the shattered pieces and returned them to its original state. Andy stopped what she was doing and looked up at her friend, taken back by her words.

"Ummm…Lil, that's like NEWT level work. I don't even think they teach that hex here, unless you are going to be an Auror or something like that," said Andy.

"I know that," stated Lily. "I just wanted to try. I got the incantation right. I just can't get the wand movement right." Lily then made another attempt to perform the hex while Andy watched her.

"Well, for starters you're holding it wrong," chuckled Andy at Lily's wand waving.

All Lily could mange to get out was a "huh?" and looked at her best friend as if she were on something.

"Loosen your grip and relax your wrist a bit," instructed Andy as she sat up properly on the couch.

"Like this?" said Lily as she complied with what she was told.

"Uh huh. Okay, now do two swishes, three circles, and a thrust," ordered Andy. Lily did what she was told and was now concentrating on the vase.

"Great, now stand on one leg and quack like a duck," stated Andy calmly. Lily began to raise her one leg up until Andy's words registered in her brain.

"Andy!" said an outraged Lily not finding it funny to be the butt of a joke.

"You were really going to do that weren't you?" giggled Andy. Lily gave her a look and shook her head trying not to laugh. She then returned her attention to the vase and performed the hex on the vase. It rose off the table a couple of inches and hovered for a few moments while tiny patches of frost appeared on it. Then suddenly the vase was sent pelting across the room into the direction where Felicia was sitting and shattered against the wall. Lily and Andy stared at the wall in shock.

"Whoa! Remind me not to mess with you again," said Andy.

"Would you two, please!" spat Felicia upset that her concentration was now broken. She then dove back into her satchel trying desperately to find something.

"My, aren't we in a chipper mood," said Andy in a mock tone.

At that moment Kelly came walking down the stairs, looking all dressed to the nines. She was wearing a new black pleated skirt with a white sweater and a pair of silver hoop earrings. She had curled her hair and had it pulled up into a clip. Everyone could only see that she had also put on a light layer of makeup, something Kelly never really ever did unless it was for a special occasion.

"Hey Kel. What are you all dressed up for?" asked Lily, admiring her friend's outfit.

"Actually I'm going on a date," said Kelly simply as she took a seat near the fireplace.

"With who?" said Andy curious as a kitten.

"A boy," replied Kelly coyly.

"Duh! Which boy though?" remarked Andy as she got up and sat on the edge of the little table next to where Kelly sat. Kelly just ignored her two friends and gazed in to the fire.

"Come on! Tell me please!" whined Andy.

"Is he from our house?" inquired Lily a little curious as well. She looked over to where Felicia was and noticed that she really didn't take interest into who Kelly's mystery date was. _'That's odd. Felicia is usually more curious about these kinds of things, than Andy is,'_ she thought.

"Yes," stated Kelly simply as she continued to wait for her date.

"Is he in our year?" asked Andy quickly.

"No."

"Younger?" spat Andy hoping that if she asked her questions fast enough, Kelly would slip up.

"Nope."

"So he's older than," concluded Lily. Kelly simply nodded and looked at the clock to see what time it was.

"Is it Mathews?" asked Andy. Kelly just shook her head.

"Richardson?" said Lily, thinking of the current head boy at Hogwarts. Kelly again shook her head no.

"McKay?" asked Andy with a grin, wanting to see what Kelly's response was to the mention of the biggest nerd Hogwarts had ever seen. Kelly turned about two shades of green at the mention of the boy.

"Well you could at least give us a hint," said Andy getting a little frustrated at this guessing game.

"Well…alright. He's someone on the team," said Kelly grinning ear to ear.

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere. That narrows it down to three," said Lily trying to imagine whom she was talking about.

"He's got a great smile. Dark chocolate eyes, and shaggy brown hair, and ooohh what a bod," said Kelly dreamy. Lily and Andy couldn't help but laugh at their friend's sudden outburst of affection and the look on her face.

"It sounds and awful lot like Wood," giggled Lily. Kelly couldn't help but beam at the mention of the Quidditch captain's name.

"You're going out with Wood?" shouted a surprised Andy. "When did this happen?"

"Last week after the game. We started talking and he hinted that he wanted to go out, but he didn't ask until Wednesday," giggled Kelly.

"I didn't even know you liked him," said Andy. She felt awful and a little hurt that she didn't pick up on her friend's feelings, which she's usually good at. (or so she thinks)

"Well it started around the beginning of the year. One night, I was walking pass the pit and saw him flying around, and it sort of hit me like…like…lightning," radiated Kelly. "Since that day, I kept coming to the practices to watch you guys, along with Felicia."

"Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that you two were the cackling hens that hid under the stands?" said an astounded Andy, to which Kelly nodded in response. "I thought you were a couple of first years or Slytherin spies."

At that moment Braden Wood came in through the porthole looking a little nervous. His cheeks were a little pink from being out in the cold.

"Hey Kelly. Sorry I'm late. Your ready to go?" he asked with a charming smile.

"Yeah. See you gals later," said Kelly as she took Braden's arm that he offered to her, and left the common room.

"Have a good time," chimed Lily and Andy. The girls looked at each other and couldn't help but giggle at the sappy display that they had just witnessed. After a few moments of laughter, Andy noticed that Remus had just come down from his room. He was looking awfully paler than usual, and the appearance of someone who had a lot on his mind.

"Hey Rem. What's wrong?" said Andy as she approached him.

"Nothing, just not feeling all to well," said Remus weakly. Up close, Andy could see the dark circles under his eyes and got the impression that he a good strong gust of wind would knock him over.

"Are you going to be all right?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, I think you should go see the nurse," advised Andy, hating to see any of her friends not feeling well.

"Yes, I think you're right. See you later," said Remus quickly as he looked out the window at the beautiful sunset. He hurried passed the girls to the porthole.

"Feel better, Rem!" called Andy as he pushed the portrait open and disappeared into the hallway.

"I hope there's nothing wrong with him. Doesn't it seem kinda odd that he's always sick?" said Lily.

"It's just the way Remus is," said Andy simply over the sound of something tapping. The tapping grew louder and startled a couple of people in the common room.

"What is that!" roared Felicia, being interrupted for the third time this evening. "Sounds like it's coming from the window." Lily and Andy turned back to the window and saw a white and gray owl tapping at the windowpane. Andy quickly went over and opened the window to let the creature in. It was carrying a note addressed to her in James's handwriting.

"What is it, Andy?" inquired Lily.

"Nothing. Just Jay's ruddy bird," stated Andy as she stroked the owl's back before it flew off to find its dinner. Once the bird was gone, she opened the note and read it.

Hey Star,

We need your help with something. We need you to open the portrait for us. Sirius, Peter, and I are waiting by the door. Could you do us this favor, please? We don't have much time, to pull this off. (And don't bother asking what we're doing. It's best to not to let too many people know).

Misfits in Need

"What does he want?" inquired Lily. She had a pretty good idea that it was some sort of mischief that James needed help with. _'Probably another prank of Snape.'_

"Hmm? Oh nothing really. Just being a prat as usual. He wants to know if I want in on a prank for Snivellus," said Andy simply as she folded the note and tucked it into her pocket.

"And?" pushed Lily.

"Eh, I've got better things to do. Got a lot of homework and practice to work on. Don't really have time to help the delinquents," said Andy nonchalantly as she took a seat on the couch again. Lily was shook to see her friend turn down an offer to prank someone. 'Maybe she is growing out of that habit,' hoped Lily.

"Ah, shoot!" exclaimed Andy.

"What is it?"

"I left my charms book in the library. I'll be right back," sighed a disgruntled Andy as she got up and left the common room.

"Huh, that's funny," said Felicia packing up some of her books.

"What is?" asked a perplexed Lily.

"Why would Andy say that she left her book in the library, when I have it right here?" stated Felicia as she held up Andy's copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5_.

Out in the corridor that was becoming darker and colder by the second, Andy walked casually down the hall. Although she couldn't see anyone, she knew that there was someone walking behind her. Apparently it was a couple of people cramped together shuffling along the hall.

__

'Wonder what would happen if I did this?' thought Andy as she slowly pulled out her wand from her pocket. When she got a little ways ahead from the portrait of the fat lady, she slowed down a bit and secretively pointed her wand to the supposed empty hall behind her.

"Tarantallegra!" whispered Andy.

"OW!" exclaimed a voice out of nowhere

"HEY!" cried a different voice

"WWWWHHHHHOOOOOOAAAAAAA!" At that moment the invisibility cloak slipped off to reveal, James, Sirius, and Peter lying on top of each other in a heap of wiggling limbs on the floor. As they separated, Andy could tell that she had obviously hit James with the curse since he couldn't seem to control his legs.

"Well, well, well, if it's the Three Stooges," chimed Andy dipping every word in sarcasm. She stood before them with her arms crossed and a raised eyebrow.

"Hi Star," growled James, while Sirius muttered the counter curse and helped his best mate up.

"Hmm…not that I don't mind helping out delinquents, like yourselves, but what pray tell has caused this little covert operation?" said Andy with now just a hint of her sarcasm in her voice.

"How do you even know it's covert?" asked Peter defensively.

"Well for starters the cloak is a big hint. Also the note was a big hint, too," chuckled Andy. _'And they call me blond?'_

"It's nothing," said James simply as he picked up his Invisibility cloak.

"Right, and I'm Helga Hufflepuff," spat Andy.

"What are you doing, writing a book?" said Sirius harshly as he noticed the full moon becoming brighter in the night sky.

"Gee, that's funny. I don't remember talking to you," growled Andy, getting ready for another word battle with Sirius. James knew exactly where this conversation would lead, if he didn't put a stop to it now.

"All right! We're going to set up a prank," lied James.

"On who?" said Andy hastily. She could tell that James was lying to her. He was pulling that same pathetic grin and innocent act that he has been known to do in front of McGonagall.

"Uh, Malfoy and Snape," replied James, hoping that he sounded convincing enough. Andy studied him for a sec, and knew right away that he was either lying completely to her, or only partly speaking the truth.

"Alright, I'm in," she stated.

"Huh!" shrieked all three guys, looking at her as if she had three heads of something.

"Well, thanks to you, I have to stay out of the nice warm common room a bit, so I think you owe it to me for a little bit of excitement," concluded Andy.

"You don't want to get involved," said James gravely.

"Why not?" she asked. _'If this is another one of his_, because it's a guy thing_, I'm going to hex him_.' she thought.

"Because…because…because…" stuttered James trying desperately to come up with a good excuse.

"Because it involves going into the boy's lav on the forth floor," stated Sirius, with conviction.

A sour and disgusted look came over Andy's face. Everyone knew for a fact that the boy's bathroom on the forth floor was definitely not a place people wanted to be near. Ever since some second year Slytherins, a couple of years back, tried to create an illegal potion that blew up in their faces, the bathroom has been off limits. Nobody for sure knew what was really in there, but every time someone walked passed the door, he or she would have to cover their nose and mouth and pray that they didn't get sick right there in the middle of the hallway.

"Urgh, on second thought I think I'll pass," said Andy.

"Wimp," stated Sirius under his breath. Andy glared at worst enemy and was about to state a come back, when James stopped her.

"Come on, let's go," he told his two mates, and threw the cloak over them, and left Andy standing in the middle of the hall.

The three Marauders scurried down each passageway and staircase, trying not to make to much noise. When they reached the Entrance Hall, they quickly snuck into a nearby closet and hid until after McGonagall made her nightly check on the front door. They weren't exactly sure what time she would check it tonight. It all depended on whether or not any of the other students decided to cause trouble that needed the professor's attention. So the boys decided to take turns keeping watch to see when the cost was clear.

After waiting for felt like an eternity, James heard the Professor coming down the hall, while talking to Professor Flitwick. Right on cue, McGonagall checked the door and made sure that no one had tampered with it. As the two Professors made their way up the stairs, James listened until he knew they were at least on the second floor.

"Okay, cost is clear," he whispered to the other two.

"About bloody time too," muttered Sirius as he got up, stretched his arms, and poked a snoring Peter. "Come on, Wormtail. Showtime!"

The Marauders once again hid under the cloak and made their way to the front door. When they reached the door, Sirius muttered the spell that would disable the nightly charm McGonagall but on it and opened the door. "Knew that would come in handy some day," he whispered to James.

The night air hit the three of them hard as they stepped outside. From the bottom of the steps, they could see a curl of smoke coming from Hagrid's chimney and could hear Fang barking in the distance. The boys stealthy darted from the front of the castle to the Whomping Willow, and screeched to a halt once they reached it.

"All…right…Wormtail…It's up…to you…now," gasped James, trying to regain his breath. Peter, worried face and all, nodded, took a deep breath, and transformed into a small rat.

"Wicked! Go to it mate," said Sirius. With that, the rat darted out from the cloak and scurried toward the tree to press the knot that would disable it.

"After you mate," said James as he slightly bowed to Sirius and presenting the secret passageway to him. Sirius just rolled his eyes and punched him in the shoulder before transforming into a large, shaggy, black dog. James then took off the cloak and hid it in a nearby bush. He then looked around to make sure know one from the castle was watching, before he transformed into an off white stag. He could still feel that slight tingling sensation that he gets when he transforms, when he heard his best friend the dog bark for him.

James, Sirius, and Peter climbed down the hole in the tree and into the narrow tunnel of earth. They walked down the passage way slowly, not knowing where exactly their other friend was. As they neared the end of the tunnel, they could hear something howling and snarling just up ahead of them. Soon, the three Animagi found themselves in the legendary Shrieking Shake, just out side of Hogsmeade.

Furniture and pieces of drapery were ripped and torn throughout the room, as they scanned the room. In the corner of the room, they found a small pile of clothes folded up and tucked away. They each looked at each other and we're wondering the same thing…'_where is he?_' At that moment, they heard a low growl. James in stag formed glanced over at Sirius thinking that it was his growl, until he saw the dog shake its head. They heard the growl again coming from behind them.

Standing right by the fireplace was none other than Remus as a full fledge werewolf, baring his teeth and snarling at its intruders. The three animals stood side by side, staring down their werewolf friend, hoping deep inside that what they had read about werewolves were true.

The werewolf studied the three of them carefully, until the little rat decided to run away and hide from it. Remus, quickly tried to pounce on Peter in rat form, but was stopped by both the dog an stag charging at it. The werewolf, bite and scratched at both animals until they had him back up into a corner.

The standoff between them was extremely intense, until an idea popped in James's head. He stared directly into the werewolf's eyes and slowly trotted toward it. Remus snarled and growled at the stag as he came near him until he noticed the stag's hazel eyes. Slowly, Remus began to calm down and saw who each of his intruders were by looking through their eyes.

Deep inside, Remus couldn't have been happier to see his three friends there with him in his monthly form. He always knew that his friends would go to extreme measures sometimes, but never in his wildest dreams would he have thought that they would become illegal Animagi just to hang with him. So began the Marauders monthly tradition of running around the ground of Hogwarts, causing and finding themselves in worlds of trouble.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** It's all J.K. Rowling. I only own this story and the characters I made up.


	11. Waiting For a Star to Fall

****

Days in Avalon

Chapter Eleven: Waiting For a Star to Fall

The following week had been uneventful as usual in the month of November. Students were once again suffering under mountains of homework, but were grateful for the slight break they received on Halloween. As for four troublesome Gryffindors they couldn't get over what they had experienced just the week before. In all their years of misdemeanor offensives, they never thought that they could get away with something this illegal. Sure the thought of what could happen if they got caught had crossed their minds once or twice. But more importantly, one idea kept popping into their heads more often then getting caught though. What could they do next month when their friend had to go through his monthly transformation?

That Saturday afternoon after lunch, the Marauders went back up to the common room to continue planning for their next adventure. What they hadn't noticed though was that a group of girls had been up at the common room meeting for a study group at the same time. Naturally the James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter paid no attention to such things and went on with their tactical planning. As for the girls, they could help but wonder what had caused such a change in the pranksters.

"What's up with them?" whispered Karen to Andy. Andy had asked Karen for help in understanding this one rather difficult plant for Herbology. Karen was more than willing to help since she too was going to ask her for help in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Don't really know. They all have been acting a little weird ever since last week," remarked Andy as she flipped through her large Herbology book and notes.

"Everything they do is weird," chimed Lily as she wrote a letter to her family.

"Weirder than usual," said Andy as she cast a look over at the Marauders.

"What do you mean?" inquired Felicia as she finished off her Astronomy chart.

"They're always planning," said Andy as she scrunched up her face in disbelief.

"What else is knew," replied Kelly as she scanned her Potions notes for something.

"It's the way they're acting. They usually don't care if someone sees them conspiring. But now…" said Andy lazily as she cast another look at the group. They were now hunched over a table whispering and ever now and then one would look around the common room to see if anyone was listening in on them.

"They won't even show or tell me what they're doing," continued Andy feeling a little left out. "Whatever it is, it must be either really great or really dangerous."

"Ten gallons says it dangerous," said Lily, not lifting her eyes off her parchment. A few moments later, they four boys quickly got up from the table and made their way up the stairs to their dorm room. As they past they girls, they overheard one of them call the other by the name 'Moony' and the other 'Prongs' before they disappeared up the stairs.

"There they go again," sighed Andy as she returned to her book.

"What's up with the nicknames," inquired Kelly.

"I have not clue. I heard them call each other names like 'Prongs' and 'Moony' and 'Padfoot' and 'Wormtail'," said Andy. She couldn't help wonder why they called each other those names. She also couldn't help but feel a little depressed that they didn't include her. Sure she didn't always hang out with them. But she did like the feeling of being one of the guys. She never really got into all those girly things like some of her other friends did, but occasionally she did like to get a little glamorous.

As the afternoon passed by, the girls continued with their studies while occasionally hearing loud outbursts coming from the boys' dormitory. After studying for nearing two hours, Andy and Karen finally closed their books and sat back in their chairs. By this time now Lily was engrossed in her new book that she just got out of the library, while Kelly was proof reading her Potions essay. Felicia on the other hand was far from finishing her homework. If someone happened to pass by, they would presume that she was contemplating her next sentence for her essay. But on closer observation, Andy could see this glazed and dreamy look in her eyes like she was off in her own personal world. And from the looks of it she wasn't alone in that world either.

"What's up with the daydreaming princess?" Andy asked to Karen as she stretched her arms over her head.

"Don't really know," was her response as she put some of her books back into her bag.

"She's been doing that for awhile now. I noticed it at the beginning of the year," said Lily as she glanced up from her book.

"Ah, don't bother her. She's just dreaming about _him_ again," said Kelly offhandedly as she continued to read her essay. The moment the words fell from her mouth, Kelly immediately regretted saying them. _'Ahh crap!'_

Lily, Andy, and Karen immediately stopped what they were doing and stared at Kelly, fully intrigued as to _what_ or rather to _whom_ she was talking about.

"Excuse me?" said Andy with a raised eyebrow. Even though she would never admit it to herself, one of the girly things she definitely liked to hear was school gossip. Of course she would never spread it around the school or start up a rumor for the pure enjoyment of it. Same went for the other four girls.

"What about _'him'_? Who is he?" asked Karen getting a little bit excited to hear something new.

"Come on, gals. Now let's not start," said Lily who thought it best not to snoop around their friend's fancy, even though a really strong part of her wanted to know just as bad as the others.

"Oh hush up Lil. How often does one of us keep something from the other? Besides where is you sense of adventure, little miss prefect," mocked Andy just to spite her.

"Come on Kel, tell us who it is!" said Karen gleefully.

"Are you guys talking about me?" spat Felicia as she came out of her daydream.

"No," said Andy in an innocent tone with an impish smirk.

"YES!" said Lily as a sort of payback for Andy's tease. Andy quickly glared at Lily before she met Felicia's judgmental eyes.

"So what if I am? At least I'm not talking to Patricia the gossip queen of Hogwarts! I'm just talking to my bud Kel here," replied Andy smoothly.

"What did you say?" said Felicia to Kelly in a harsh tone.

"She didn't really say anything. Just that you liked a guy," said Karen highly amused at her friend's reaction. Felicia glared at Kelly who was now completely avoiding her gaze while turning a shade of magenta.

"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not saying _anything_!" said Felicia with authority.

"Sure. Fine. Don't say a word," said Andy as if she were going to drop the subject. Felicia smirked at the thought of finally being able to avoid her friend's interrogation.

"_But_ that doesn't mean that we can't guess," finished Andy while she and Karen turned their attention back to Kelly. Kelly began to feel a little hot under the collar. Even after all these years of friendship, Kelly had never really quite mastered the art of avoiding an interrogation that sprang up out of nowhere.

"Now let's see…is he older," said Andy. Felicia sat back in her chair and scoffed at the idea that Andy had said. She had confidence in her friend that she would keep her secret.

"That's a 'no'," chimed Karen. "Is he younger?" Kelly tried to avoid their stare by looking up at the ceiling and twirling her hair subconsciously.

"Another 'no'" said Andy. "So he's in our year?"

"I'm not saying anything," chuckled Kelly as if the whole idea was preposterous.

"Ahh…so he is in our year. That's very interesting," said Karen as she sat back in her chair and folded her hands together.

"Okay now for the house," said Andy getting a little bit excited at being closer to figuring out who this guy is.

"Count off Slytherin," said Karen quickly.

"Yeah, and Ravenclaw is to smart for her," said Andy stroking her chin while in thought. "So that leaves either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor."

"Is it Amos's brother?" said Karen quickly.

"Nah, not her type. What about Carlin?" replied Andy to which Karen shook her head.

"Chris? No, he's going out with Missy," said Karen.

"Hey, what about Aramis?" said Andy.

"He's not from Hu..." said Kelly quickly who couldn't take there guessing anymore.

"KELLY!" screamed Felicia in outrage.

"So he's a Gryffindor from our year," said Andy with a smirk, pleased to know that they were finally getting somewhere. "Is it Mike?"

"What about Orion?" said Karen. Andy shook her head in response.

"Paul?" piped up Lily who couldn't help but get involved now.

"I thought you weren't getting involved," said Andy with a raised eyebrow.

"What can I say? I've been around you lot for too long," said Lily with an impish grin. Andy and Karen returned the same grin knowing now that they would crack the mystery. "Right now let's think. She started acting weird around what, the end of September? Beginning of October?"

"Right, her and Kel were going to the Quidditch practices," said Karen getting caught up in the moment.

"That's right!" said Andy lost in the moment until reality dawned on her. "Wait…the only people on the team who are fifth years are me, Jay, and Blackie."

"Oh, my urgh," grunted Lily at thought that formed in her mind. "Please tell me it isn't Potter."

"It isn't," said Kelly meekly as she glanced over at Andy.

"So if it isn't James then it's…" stated Andy until the truth hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Oh Merlin!" whispered Andy as her delighted smirk with replaced with a look of disgust and repulsion.

"Andy are you okay?" said Lily.

"I think I'm going to be sick," moaned Andy as she placed her head on the table.

"You've got to be kidding me!" scoffed Karen in disbelief, as she looked at Felicia square in the eyes. Felicia, not being able to with stand her friends' gazes, bowed her head a bit and stood up from the table to stretch her legs. Lily and Karen gave each other a look of disbelief. They couldn't fathom what was going on in their friend's mind. For years they have waged a war against the illusive quartet, but never in their wildest dreams did they ever picture one of them liking a Marauder again.

"How could you Felicia? After everything he's done?" stated Andy still trying to digest what she had just heard.

"I know! Alright? But I just can't help the way I feel," said Felicia at a lost for words.

"But…_HIM_! I mean I could understand Remus or James or heck even Amos Diggory. But him? Sirius 'I'm-so-great-everyone-should-bow-down-and-kiss-my-feet' Black!" roared Andy as a wave of rage started to form.

"He really isn't all that bad," said Felicia meekly, hoping that this would cool things down a bit.

"Not that bad? Wh- H- have you lost your ever loving mind?" stuttered Andy as she shot out of her chair. "What about all those nasty little things he's done to you? Too all of us? Weren't you the one who always complained about him more than me?"

"Andy calm down," said Kelly as she tried to coax her into taking a seat.

"He's different now. He's older," pleaded Felicia, trying to make her friends see what she saw.

"He's still an immature prat!" howled Andy as if it were obvious.

"He is not!" spat Felicia without even thing.

"_PLEASE!_ He was shooting peas out of his nose at dinner last night!" screeched Andy.

"Felicia, why would you think that he's different now?" said Lily trying to rationalize with her friend and at the same time trying to understand where she was coming from and to give Andy time to calm down a bit.

"I don't know why, Lil. I just do," said Felicia in defeat. "But if any of you speak one word of this to anyone, especially to him, I'll hex you into the middle of next week." Felicia added in a threatening tone as she pointed her finger at the group; particularly toward Andy's direction.

"Like I would even tell him anything," spat Andy sarcastically. "Unlike some people, I try to avoid him at all cost."

"Come on, Star," said Kelly. "Just let her be. So she likes him. Big deal! It's not like she's asking you too."

"Whatever," said Andy as she rolled her eyes. She glanced over at the clock and noticed that it was now a little half past three.

"Look, I got to go. Braden wants to have another practice before the next match," sighed Andy as she gathered her things and got up from the table. "See ya later." With that she headed out of Gryffindor tower eager to get away from a person she once considered a best friend.

"Well that was a little rude," said Felicia as she brushed some of her hair out of her face. She retook her seat at the table and took a few calming breaths.

"What did you expect? Her to welcome the idea with open arms?" spat Karen. "You know she hates him beyond anything else is this world. Of course she's not going to be too please to hear one of her best friends telling her that she has the hots for him. Heck I still can't comprehend what you see in him."

"Well she didn't have to blow up like that," retorted Felicia.

"Felicia, how long have you know Andy?" said Lily. "You know how she gets at times. One minute she's fine and the next…kaboom! Enter over exuberant Miranda."

"Yes but still," said Felicia.

"Felicia, I told you that she would blow up like that," said Kelly.

"I still don't understand why she always has to be so closed minded when it comes to Sirius," sighed Felicia.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing," Karen said under her breath.

"Felicia, you know how she feels about Black. I mean after what he did to her. Humiliating her like that in front of the entire school for know apparent reason what so ever. Other than the fact that he thought it would be funny. Of course there is going to be bad blood between them. I mean I don't blame her and neither did you at one point. In fact if I recall correctly, you were rather pleased when she punched his lights out in the middle of the common room."

Felicia slightly snorted in amusement at the memory and folded her arms across her chest. She knew where Lily was getting at and knew that she was right.

"Just give her a little bit of time. She'll calm down eventually and try to come to terms with the way you feel," said Lily as wrapped a comforting arm around Felicia's shoulders. "She always does in time."

"If you say so," sighed Felicia. With that Felicia got up from her chair and headed towards her room to clear her head.

"Wow, I still can't believe it. Her and Black?" said Karen.

"It's not like they're going out or anything. She just likes him. He doesn't even know. Besides this is Felicia we're talking about. You know she has at least three crushes a year. It's just a phase. It'll pass," said Kelly as she cleared some of her things away.

"Maybe," said Lily thoughtfully. "Listen Kel, why don't you go check on her in a little bit. Make sure she's okay and everything."

"Sure, not a problem," replied Kelly as Lily stood up from the table. "Where are you off too?"

"You going to check on Andy?" said Karen.

"Yeah, I'll talk to her after the team practice. See you gals later," said Lily as she made her way through porthole.

It would be at least another hour or two before the team finished their practice in the Quidditch pit. In the mean time, Lily made her to the Owlery to send her letter to her parents and then proceeded to walk to the library to do some reading.

"All right team, that was a great practice," said Braden brightly as everyone landed safely on the ground slightly out of breath.

"Great practice? That was bloody exhausting!" whispered Larry to Bill and James. Wood gave Larry a quick glare before he told the team to hit the showers.

"Hey Andy, can you do me a favor and put the box away?" said Braden when the team left for the locker rooms.

"I suppose," said Andy a little disappointed that she couldn't go right off and take a nice long bath after the grueling practice.

"Great! Thank you so much," beamed Braden as he ran off toward the locker room.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," mumbled Andy as she went over to take the Quidditch set over to the shed. When she returned to the field she discovered her best friend heading straight towards her.

"Hello," said Lily with a weak smile not knowing how Andy would react. Andy knew right off the bat why Lily had come to the Quidditch pit, and she really didn't want to talk about what had happened earlier that afternoon. She simply nodded at Lily, picked up her broom and the extra whistle she forgot to put away, and proceeded to head back toward the shed.

"Come on Andy. It's not the end of the world," said Lily, hoping to lighten up the mood a bit. Andy stopped dead in her tracks and spun around to look at Lily.

"Well how would you feel if one of your best friends liked someone you hated more than anything in this world?" spat Andy. Lily raised an eyebrow at her best mate's remark and gave her a knowing look. The moment Andy realized what she had said, she hung her head in regret. _'Of course she would know. I did the same thing to her back in third year,' _said a voice in Andy's head.

"Talk about getting a taste of your own medicine, huh?" said Andy as she shook her head.

"Not all that pleasing, huh?" said Lily with a slight chuckle.

"How can you lot even stand me half the time," said Andy as she rolled her eyes.

"It's difficult. But we manage," replied Lily as she came up to her friend and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"God, I'm such a hypocrite!" said Andy in disgust.

"You are not," stated Lily. Andy sneered at the remark and gave Lily a look that stated 'yeah right'.

"Okay you can be at times, but that's just the way you are. We are all like that. It's what makes us human," said Lily.

"Well thank you Professor Dumbledore," said Andy jokingly as she continued her journey back to the Quidditch shed to put away the whistle. Lily couldn't help but giggle at the remark as followed Andy.

"All I'm saying is just give Felicia a chance. I mean come on, you know this whole thing won't last too long," said Lily.

"Yeah that is true," said Andy as they reached the shed. "Hmmm…that's strange," she said when she opened the door.

"What?" said Lily as she peered in to see what was so odd.

"The box is missing. I put it here before I ran into you," said Andy as she looked around to see if she had been mistaken. Lily too looked around as well, until she noticed something in the air between two boys on broomsticks.

"Uh Andy," said Lily as she tapped her shoulder.

"What?" replied Andy. She had nearly pulled off every item that was on the shelves of the shed trying to find the blasted thing.

"I think I found the box," chuckled Lily at her friend's displacement.

"Where?" said Andy quickly franticly turned her head every which way until she saw what Lily was looking at. Flying through the air was none other than the Marauders, heading off towards the mountains, carrying the Quidditch box.

"Apparently someone else decided to play a little more," said Lily with a hint of sarcasm in her voice

"Those little rats," said Andy a little miffed. "If they loose one of those balls, Braden and McGonagall are going to have my head."

"Where do you think they are off too?" asked Lily.

"Don't know. Probably to some nearby clearing on the other side of the lake," sighed Andy as she bent down to pick up her broom. She stared to mount it when Lily shot her a warning look.

"Andy, I don't think this is such a good idea," voiced Lily.

'What? Would you rather go after them on this?" said Andy as she cocked an eyebrow.

"Ahh well…" stuttered Lily who was absolutely terrified of flying on a 'little piece of wood and twigs' as she put it.

"I didn't think so," said Andy as she mounted her broom and hovered over next to Lily. "Besides, what's going to happen, huh?"

Lily tried to come up with some reasonable excuse that would convince Andy, but to no avail.

"I'll let you have the next one," called out Andy as she flew off to follow the boys.

"Alright boys. Welcome to Extreme Quidditch," said James trying to sound like some sort of sports announcer.

"The game is simple. All the old Quidditch rules apply, except now it isn't illegal to knock someone off their broom. First team to reach 100 points wins. Padfoot and Wormtail are one team, while Moony and I are another. Everyone savvy?" said James with a smirk. Everyone quietly nodded before they mounted their brooms.

During one of his many trips flying around the grounds, James had stumbled across this great rock quarry located near the mountains. It was full of sharp turns and deep caves that were great for hiding. But what was really unique, were the two oddly shaped rock sculptures that resembled the hoops on the pit, each at the opposite end of the quarry. Sirius had come up with the idea of the game last year during one of the many detentions he served with Filtch, while Remus and Peter came up with the new rules.

After mounting their brooms and kicking off, James opened up the Quidditch box to let out one bludger and the Quaffle. He didn't really feel like let the Snitch out since her had just spent the last hour and half chasing after it. Once he was in the air, he used the levitation charm to ascend the Quaffle out of the box. Once ever one was in place, James released the spell on the Quaffle causing the soccer size ball to drop, and beginning the game. Peter and James played the part of keeper and beater, while Remus and Sirius played the part of chasers for each respected team.

Sirius and Remus quickly dove at the Quaffle once the spell had been taken off it. Sirius was the first to grab it and pelted off toward the other end of the 'field' where James was waiting. When he was in range, Sirius chucked the ball at the natural hoop, but was diverted back to him when James used beater bat to send it back.

Remus snuck up behind Sirius and 'playfully' nudged him in the shoulder, causing him to slightly roll off his broom. Remus in the mean time, instantly grabbed the Quaffle and made his way down the other end of the 'field'. When he came face to face with Peter, he faked him out by turning right instead of left, and scored the first point of the game.

After playing for about twenty minutes or so, the score was now 40-30 in favor of James and Remus's team. But none of the Marauders really cared for score, since they were having such a great time diving and twisting in and out of sharp turns while trying to avoid the Bludger they had set free.

At this point of the game Sirius had reclaimed the Quaffle once more and made his way down the field toward James. When he was half way there, the Bludger nicked Sirius in the arm causing him to drop the Quaffle. He dove after it with Remus at his heels. As the reached the floor of the quarry, they saw the bright red ball roll into a nearby cave that was pitch black.

"Lumos," said Remus and Sirius at the same time as they flew into the cave with their lit wands guiding them. They search high and low for the darn thing but they couldn't find it anywhere.

"Where is it, Padfoot?" called James at the entrance of the cave.

"I don't know! We can't find it anywhere," called back Sirius.

"Looking for this," said a voice from above Sirius that nearly scared him half to death. As he looked above him, he saw the outline of person sitting on little ledge. Suddenly a bright light lit emerged from the tip of Andy's wand lighting up the ceiling of the cave. She sat on the edge of a very sharp wall with her broom next to her and the lost Quaffle in her hand.

"Sparky? What the…how the hell did you get here?" stuttered Sirius. Andy simply glared at him as she got on her broom again and flew out of the cave with the Quaffle. Remus and Sirius followed after her and joined Peter and James who were surprised to see the blond haired witch there.

"Andy what are you doing here?" said James at a lost.

"Well it seems that someone has taken the school's Quidditch set that I clearly remember putting in the shed after practice," stated Andy as she began her little speech. "So I went out in search for it and low and behold, I find that none other than the Marauders have it. Now I know I must be mistaken, because none of them would ever do such a thing, since it would be my hide on the line."

Peter began to turn four shades of red as his hands began to fidget, while Remus seemed to take keen interest at a rock that was near his foot. Sirius chuckled slightly at Andy's little performance of trying to make them feel bad, while James ran his hand through his already windblown hair.

"Look, Star. We're sorry, okay. We were going to bring everything back," said James.

"That's not the point, Jay. The point is you shouldn't have taken it in the first place. You know what McGonagall would do if she found out that someone on the team had stolen the set and lost one of the balls. They wouldn't be able to see sunlight until the end of the year," said Andy hotly.

"Would you quit being so melodramatic," said Sirius.

"Shut up, Blackie. I wasn't talking to you," roared Andy.

"Hey, lay off him, alright. And besides since when do you care what McGonagall thinks? I thought you were one of us?" said James.

"One of us'? Is that what I am? Hmm…gee that's funny. It sure hasn't seemed that way since what ever you lot did last weekend. You guys haven't said practically two words to me for a week!" shouted Andy.

"Well why would we with you acting like a girl and all," spat James.

"Hey Jay? If you haven't noticed, I AM A GIRL!" roared Andy. "I can't believe you actually said that. You sound just like this loser over here," she added as she motioned over to where Sirius was.

"Hey why doesn't everyone just take a deep breath here and calm down," said Remus trying to play the roll of peacemaker.

"Yeah before she starts to cry or something," said James under his breath. Andy stood there in complete and utter shock as well as the rest of Marauders. A remark like that they expected to come out of someone like Sirius, but James?

"You…little…_git_" snarled Andy as she took a hostile step toward James's direction, before Remus held her back.

"Okay, I think that's enough talk for one day," said Remus as he tried to restrain Andy a bit.

"Oh what's a matter Rem? You afraid that I'm going to kick the little jerk's arse?" growled Andy.

"Like that's even possible," said James smugly.

"Oh what? You don't think I'm capable?" said Andy.

"No, I know you are. I just don't want you break a nail or anything," said James with a smirk.

"Oh don't worry about me. You just name the time and place and I'll show you," said Andy.

"Fine! You want feel more included. All right then, we'll have a little race. The first one to catch the Snitch wins," said James.

"What's that going to prove?" said Andy not seeing where James was getting at.

"Come on, Andy. You want to feel more included, one of us, so why not do something that we do sometimes," said James.

"All right, fine. I'll go along with your little game," said Andy sweetly. She broke away from Remus's grip and walked over to where her broom was.

Once James and Andy were up in the air, they flew over to where the Quidditch box was placed. Sirius, Remus, and Peter followed closely behind and wondered what the heck was going on. Sure Andy and James had gotten into rows every now and then, but this came out of nowhere.

"Uhh…are you guys sure about this?" said Remus as he went over to the box.

"Just do it Moony," shouted James as he got into position.

"Yeah so I can prove to Potter here that this is ridiculous," said Andy as she got into position also.

"Okay, here it goes," said Remus as he opened the box and let out the Snitch.

The golden ball flew high into the air and stood between Andy and James for a moment before it pelted off down the quarry with James and Andy in it's wake. Both of them flew neck to neck as they chased after Snitch. They weaved in and out of dark caves and sharp turns as they all around the quarry trying to catch the tiny gold ball. A few times James was close to catching the darn thing had Andy not interfered and vice versa. At one point of the race, they flew nearly ninety feet into air and shot back down into the quarry along the edge of the quarry's wall. It was then that James's broom slightly clipped a large bolder causing it to slightly rock back and forth.

As they flew along the floor of the quarry, Andy's broom caught the edge of large rock causing her to loose control of her broom and skid to a halt on the floor. At that same moment, the Snitch shot up into the air once again with James closing in on it. Andy quickly got on her broom again and shot up after him willing her broom to move faster. As James threw himself into his broom, he closed the gap between him and Snitch with every passing second. Soon he was right on top of it and quickly grabbed it before it flew off into another direction.

"Ha! Simple little task. I win!" said James gleefully as he hovered at the spot where he caught the Snitch.

"JAMES LOOK OUT!" screamed Andy as she pointed to something behind him. When her turned around, he saw a large bolder falling along the wall of the quarry heading straight toward him.

"Explodere!" cried Andy as she pointed her wand at the bolder. A jet of pink light shot out from her wand and hit the bolder blasting it into a million tiny pieces. But with the reverberation of the rock exploding bouncing off the walls of the quarry, a huge rockslide started to fall upon everyone in the quarry.

Remus, Sirius, and Peter quickly jumped on their brooms and sped off toward the entrance of the quarry, while Andy and James flew in the same direction trying to avoid getting hit by on coming rocks. James and Andy pitch, rolled and swerved to avoid the falling objects. As they neared the exit, from out of nowhere, the bludger hit Andy in the side causing her to veer off course. She could see the clearing as she tried to steady the broom and steer it toward the exit. Suddenly when it looked like she was going to make it, she felt a hard blow to the back of her head and everything went black.

* * *

**Disclaimer **I own nothing except the characters I made up and this story plot. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Studios.


	12. Vision of Love

****

Days in Avalon

Chapter Twelve: Vision of Love?

James sat by the window in the hospital wing staring out at the grounds as students tried to savor the last bit of fall before winter finally set in. He watched as a group of third years walked around the lake, while a variety of other students played around and told jokes to each other. It was hard to believe that it had been a little over a week since his best friend's accident on account of him.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the bludger hitting her in her side and the large rock striking her in the head. The sight of her falling nearly eighty feet in the air was enough to scare him straight.

(One week earlier…)

James was able to fly out of the rockslide as he slowed to a stop in safer air. He knew Andy was right behind him when they started off, but when he turned around he could still see her trapped in the sea of oncoming rocks.

"Hey come on Star! Is that the best you can do?" shouted James with a smirk. James knew that Andy was a great flyer, but under the mockery front he was putting on, he was more than a little concern about her well being.

Suddenly with out warning, he saw the black bludger smack into her, causing her broom to veer off course. The next thing he saw was the large rock striking her in the back of her head and her body going limp.

"ANDY!" screamed James. He quickly pulled out his wand and shouted a charm to slow her down. The jet of crystal blue light shout out of his wand and pelted toward Andy's falling body. But instead of hitting her directly, the spell only nicked her causing Andy to slightly slow down. Sirius, Remus, and Peter witnessed James's attempt to save Andy, and couldn't believe that it didn't work.

Sirius and Remus instantly flung themselves on their brooms willing them to go faster before it was too late. As Andy neared the ground, it looked as if she would hit it at a suicide speed. That is until Sirius grabbed a hold of her just a couple of feet from the ground, while Remus helped steady Sirius's broom, as well as Andy.

As soon as they landed gently on the ground, they set her down and noticed the large gash on her forehead. James landed next to them and rushed to her side.

"Andy? Andy, are you okay? Come on Andy open your eyes?" said a very panicked James. There was no response coming form her at all. The four boys stood around their fallen classmate in shock, each wondering the same exact thing. 'How could this have happened?'

"Come on guys, we need to get her to the hospital wing," said Remus snapping out of the trace.

"Put her on my broom. I can get her there faster," said James as he got up to retrieve his forgotten broom. Sirius and Remus nodded in agreement and helped pick Andy up and sat her up on James's broom.

"Wormtail, grab Sparky's broom," grunted Sirius as he tried to balance her limp body on the broomstick. Peter nodded vigorously, while stuttering something incoherently.

James mounted he broom and placed a firm grip around Andy's waist to keep her from falling off.

"We'll meet you there. Just be careful," said Remus as he went to reclaim the Quidditch items and his broom. James nodded in response and sped off toward the castle for help.

__

'Please let her be okay,' he thought.

At the same time, Lily had gone back to the library to read some more.

"Hey Lily," said Kelly finding her friend indulged in one of her favorite books.

Lily gave a simple "Hi" without taking her nose out of her book.

"So…how'd it go?" asked Kelly, eager to get down to business. Lily looked up from her book, a bit surprised at what Kelly had said but quickly recovered.

"She'll be okay. She's just trying to get over the feeling of acting like a complete brat," said Lily jokingly.

"Where is Andy by the way?" said Kelly looking around to see if she was hiding between some bookshelves.

"Urgh, the Marauders decided to play a little game of Quidditch with the school's set. So Andy went after them to get it," sighed Lily as she began to pack up her book.

"Oh. Nice friends, eh?" replied Kelly sarcastically. Lily couldn't help but chuckle at her remark.

"Felicia is still a little bit upset, but I think she'll be fine. Karen went back to Hufflepuff. She said she had to meet up with a couple of girls. I guess she's still a little disturbed, yet," explained Kelly.

"Ahh…so what do you want to do, now?" said Lily.

"Not sure. Guess we could go back to the common room before dinner starts," said Kelly. With that, the two friends set off towards Gryffindor tower.

"So what do you think will happen with this whole Felicia digging Blackie thing?" said Kelly, at a loss for a topic of conversation.

"Not really sure. I suppose the same thing will happen when Andy was going out with Potter," said Lily a little uncertain.

"So I guess we can expect Andy playing the role of the stubborn best friend who is set on her own beliefs," said Kelly with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not sure if I follow," said Lily at a complete loss.

"Oh come on Lil. I'm talking about they way you acted with Potter. You ever hell bent on proving that James was nothing but a complete jerk who takes pleasure in seeing others become victims of his pranks," stated Kelly in a matter of fact tone.

"Well he is," said Lily as if it were obvious, as they climbed the staircase to the next floor.

"Lily…come on. Okay sure, he can be a prat at times. But he's a guy. They're all like that. But Andy is right. I mean if you talk to him for a bit, he actually is a nice person," said Kelly.

"Well that might be fine and dandy for you and Andy. But as far as I'm concern, nothing will change my mind about James Potter," said Lily in a tone that put an end to the subject. At that precise moment, the girls heard screaming and shouting coming from the staircase.

"What the devil?" said Kelly as she and Lily rushed to investigate what was going on. As they looked down the many staircases, they saw someone with very untidy black hair flying his broom through the halls of the school.

"What does he think he's doing flying that thing in here?" spat Lily thinking that he was only doing in to show off.

"Don't know. Who's that he's holding?" said Kelly noticing the person sitting in front of him.

Lily noticed the figure too and recognized the blonde haired person on James's broom. It was then that she also noticed she wasn't really moving, but slumped over a bit. A wave of panic and fear fell over Lily as she realized something was really wrong.

"Oh no…Andy!" stated Lily, before she ran off to chase after James.

"MADAM POMFREY!" shouted James when he flew into the hospital wing. At the sound of someone shouting her name, the school nurse came rushing in from her office.

"What in the world? What happened?" asked a startled Madame Pomfrey.

"She hit her head on a rock," said James as he climbed off his broom.

"Has she moved or said anything?" asked the nurse hastily as she quickly checked over Andy.

"No," said James worriedly.

"Quickly. Help me bring her to a bed," said Madame Pomfrey as she took one of Andy's arms, while James took the other. They carefully carried her to a nearby bed and laid her down. At that moment, Lily and Kelly rushed into the hospital wing out of breath.

"What happened?" gasped Lily. But before she could get an answer Madame Pomfrey interrupted.

"I'll ask that you all step outside, while I tend to Ms. Starmenter, please," said Madame Pomfrey in a harsh tone that wasn't to be messed with. Soon James, Lily, and Kelly found themselves outside the hospital wing waiting to hear word about their friend.

"What happened, James," said Kelly at a loss. James, who had been staring at the floor reliving everything that had happened just a few minutes ago, came out of his daze and was confronted with two very worried and very ticked girls in front of him.

"Me and the guys were playing a game of Quidditch, when Andy showed up," said James softly.

"What happened, Potter," growled Lily, having an idea as to where this story was going, and not really wanting to beat it around the bush. James began to feel that now all too familiar feeling in his stomach, every time he saw Lily, now mixed with the feelings of fear, anxiety, and regret. He cleared his throat and started up the tale again.

"We got into a fight and I challenged her to a race. Everything was fine until that boulder started to fall," sighed James.

"Boulder?" said a surprised Kelly. James nodded in response and continued on.

"Andy blasted the thing to save me. The next thing I know we're caught in a rock slide," said James still not really able to believe what had happened. At that moment, Sirius, Remus, and Peter had turned the corner and began to walk toward the small group.

"You mean to tell me that she's in there because of _you_?" said Lily, aghast and disgusted. Seeing the look in Lily's eyes, James was momentarily speechless for the first time in months. All he could manage to do was nod in response, ashamed and appalled with himself.

Lily, forgetting that she was a school prefect and a somewhat goody-goody, took everyone by surprise when she lunged at James with malice in her eyes.

"Lily NO!" shouted Kelly as she made an attempted to hold back her friend. Remus jumped into action as well and helped pull Lily away from James.

"LET ME GO!" grunted Lily as she tried to break her classmates restraints.

"I knew I should have never let her fly off after you," she growled at James who was in complete shock as to what she had just done. As Lily began to calm down a bit, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall came down the hallway and entered into the hospital wing. As they passed the group of Gryffindors, McGonagall gave a very stern and haunting look, particularly directed toward the boys who were there.

"If I ever see you near her again, I'll make you wish you were never born," stated Lily coolly to James as she went off a little ways to regain her composure.

James sighed deeply and shook his head, trying to erase the memory of the prior week's events. Finding that the scene outside was not all that pleasing, he looked over and saw his fallen friend laid up in bed still unconscious. She kinda reminded him of that one muggle movie he had seen once where a woman was in a hospital bed with her head wrapped in a white headdress. She still had a few bruises on her arms, but other than that, she was peacefully sleeping.

James got up from his spot on the window and took a seat in the chair next to her bed. He hadn't really had a chance to see her since Lily's threat against him. Practically day and night, she was surround by at least one of her friends, making it nearly impossible for him to see her. He happened to get a lucky break when Karen left to go and retrieve something from her room.

See her just lying there felt so surreal to him. Night and day, he was plagued with visions of that dreadful day and how he had been so foolish.

"Come on Miranda. Please wake up," said James softly as he took hold of her hand. "I'm so sorry," he sighed as he put his head down and felt a tear slide down his cheek.

"What do you think you're doing?" spat a voice from behind James. He shot out of his chair, startled by the outburst from Lily. He quickly ran his hand through his hair, in attempted to cover up wiping away his tear.

Lily stood there staring at him with her arms folded. If looks could kill, then James would be a pile of ash right there on the spot being succumbed to Lily's fiery glare.

"I thought I told you…" started Lily.

"Ease up, Evans. I just came in to talk to her," said James as he held up his hands in defense.

"Haven't you done enough damage," spat Lily.

"Since when did you become her keeper?" replied James in the same tone Lily had given him. After over a week of having to deal with Lily Evans's remarks, James could now feel his self-restraints deteriorating. "You know for years now, you've been hovering over her like she some porcelain doll. She's a big girl, Evans. She can take care of herself!"

"Yeah, and look where she ended up," said Lily motioning toward Andy in the bed. "In a hospital bed because she thought your life was worth saving!"

"You don't think I know that!" yelled James. "You think I feel good, knowing that someone I consider my sister is lying in that bed unconscious because of me? If I could take it all back I would in a hear beat!"

"Oh really? Then why did you force her into chasing after that stupid toy?" screamed Lily. While the two rivals continued on with their shouting contest, Andy's hand began to move slightly along with her eyelids.

"I don't know. I just wanted to make her feel better," said James quickly. "She said she felt left out. So I wanted to make her feel like one of the guys again."

"But she isn't 'one of the guys'!" screeched Lily.

"I know that! It just…I mean," stuttered James until he sighed heavily, "you wouldn't understand."

Lily sneered in disgust. "Typical Potter answer. You know you are the most self-centered, pig-headed jerk I've ever met!"

"Oh really?" spat James.

"Yeah!" replied Lily, as she got right up in James's face.

"Urgh…will you two please quit bickering. All your squawking is bound to wake the dead!" groaned Andy as she stared to come around.

"Stay out of this, Andy," said Lily before she and James realized who had spoken. Forgetting their argument, they turned back toward their friend's bed and sure enough they saw Andy beginning to stir in her bed.

"ANDY!" screamed both of them as they rushed over to her side.

"AH…GEEZ! Could you keep the decimals down a bit," groaned Andy as she squinted her eyes in attempt to accommodate the brightly lit room. "Urgh, my head."

"How do you feel?" said Lily awkwardly.

"Hmph…like a hundred elephants and hippogriffs did the hustle on my head. What happened?" winced Andy.

"Y-you don't remember?" said James a little confused and worried. Andy scrunched her face trying to grasp what had happen, but everything seemed so fuzzy.

"Andy what's the last thing you remember?" said Lily trying to sound calmly.

"I…I remember being in the air," said Andy as visions started to come back to her. "I was flying, but I was…chasing something. I was chasing the Snitch. Wait that can't be right."

"No, that's right Andy," said James a little too excited. "You were chasing the Snitch."

Andy turned to her raven-haired friend with a puzzling look on her face. "Did…did we get into a fight?"

James's face fell a bit, but he nodded in response.

"I remember the Quidditch box and I went after you and the rest of the guys," continued Andy. "Then we got into a row and you wanted to prove me wrong. So…Rem…let the snitch out and…and we went at it. And then…you caught it." Andy strained a bit trying to sort out the fuzzy images that kept flooding her mind, until one object came back fully clear.

"The boulder. It was going to flatten you like a pancake," recalled Andy. "The rockslide. We got caught in a rockslide and then…oh," winced Andy as she grabbed the back of her head. "The pain. I remember something slamming into my head and…nothing."

"One of the rocks hit you and knocked you out cold. You've been out for little over a week now," said Lily helping her friend fill in the gaps.

"A week!" said a very shocked Andy. "Wait…I was like a hundred feet in the air."

"Yes," said James, not sure where she was getting at.

"So if I fell…how come I'm not…you know…pushing up daisies?" said Andy.

"Well…I tried to slow you down with a charm, but it only nicked you…and slowed you down a bit," stuttered James. "Sirius and Remus were closer than I was. So they grabbed you and stopped you before you hit bottom."

"Excuse me? I'm sorry. I must have heard you wrong," said Andy a little baffled. "You said who grabbed me?"

"Remus and Sirius," said James plainly.

"Sirius? Blackie?" said a confused Andy. James nodded in response. Andy couldn't help but sit there in complete shock.

"What's going on here?" said Madame Pomfrey as she came over to investigate. "Ms. Starmenter! You're awake."

"She just woke up a few minutes ago," said Lily.

"You gave us quite a fright young lady," said the nurse as she began to check over her patient.

"Ms. Evans, would you be so kind as to go and inform Professor McGonagall that Miranda is awake. Oh, and Potter, would you step out for a moment while I check her over," said Madame Pomfrey, more as and order than a request.

"Hang on a sec," chimed Andy. "Before I woke up, I heard you guys arguing."

"It was nothing," said James smoothly. Andy simply gave him a look and ignored his comment.

"Don't give me that Jay. Look I know what you guys were fighting about, and I want to tell you to knock it off," stated Andy in a stern tone. "Lily, don't blame James, alright? It wasn't his fault or mine. It was an accident."

"Yeah but…"said Lily.

"Lil! Just let it go. It was nobody's fault. Please?" said Andy in a timid voice.

"Alright," said Lily after taking a moment to think it over. After that, she and James left the hospital wing to allow the nurse to do her magic.

The next day, Andy was up and eager to get out of the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey would check in on her every couple of hours or so to make sure nothing else was wrong. She had giving her a couple of headache potions to relieve the pain from her concussion and also removed the white headdress from her head.

The moment all her friends found out that she was awake, they came down from their dorms and flooded her room. Lily, Felicia, Karen, and Kelly practically took up residency at Andy's bedside, to make sure her friend got the rest she needed. Felicia and Andy had completely forgotten the whole episode before the accident and began to talk as if nothing had transpired.

Although she enjoyed spending time with her friends, Andy was quickly becoming irritated with their constant nursing habits.

"Would you lot quit fussing over me! I'm fine," growled Andy as her friends readjusted her blankets and pillows, and asked if she wanted anything.

"Andy you have a concussion," stated Karen as if it were obvious.

"Yeah, I know. But that doesn't mean I'm paralyzed or anything," said Andy as she tried to find a comfortable position in the bed. Lily, Kelly, and Felicia began to lean forward in order to help her out.

"Touch me again, and I'll put wart powder in all you beds. Now _back off_," growled Andy as she found a comfy spot.

"Knock, knock," said James as he walked into the hospital wing.

"What do you want," growled Felicia as she got up from her spot on the bed.

"Down Felicia," said Andy as she pulled Felicia down again. "I told him he could come. What's up Jay?"

"Actually, I brought some others who wanted to see you," said James with a grin as he waved his had to call someone forward. At that moment, Remus, Peter, and Sirius came walking in with armfuls of cards and gifts from the team, and other admirers.

"Hey guys!" said Andy brightly as she gawked at her presents. "Wow, thanks!"

"Gifts for everyone's falling Star," said Remus cheekily. Andy and some of the other girls couldn't help but giggle at the statement.

"Remus come here," said Andy as she waved her hand forth.

"What is it?" said Remus a little lost.

"I just want to thank you for saving me. You really are a good friend," said Andy as she sat up a bit more to give him a hug. Remus began to blush profusely and turned away shyly. It was then, that Andy noticed Sirius standing practically on the other side of the room. There was a slight awkward moment that filled the room until Sirius broke it.

"Yeah, well I guess I should get going," said Sirius as he began to make his way to the door.

"Hold on Blackie. I've got something to tell ya too," said Andy.

"Sparky, you don't…"

"Oh would you shut up! Look I know there is a lot of bad blood between us. But…I do want to t-thank you," stuttered Andy. She took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Thank you…for saving my life, B…Sirius," said Andy in a meaningful tone. Everyone in the room watched in astonishment at what was going on.

"Yeah…well…I couldn't really have let you fall," said Sirius. Feeling he was becoming too mushy, he began to say the first thing that popped in his head.

"I mean, come on, if you had died, or something I would have been sent to prison. Although it would be nice to get away from your sarcastic and vindictive personality," said Sirius trying to pass off a very poor compliment.

"Thanks…I think?" said Andy a little confused as to what he was getting at.

"I hope that I'm not interrupting anything," said a voice coming from the doorway. All of the students turned an found none other than Professor Dumbledore standing in the doorway wearing his blue robes with stars and crescent moons stitched on them.

"Professor," said all of the students at the same time. Each of the students wore an expression of bewilderment to see their headmaster in the hospital wing.

"I was wondering if I might have a few words with Ms. Starmenter. That is if her honor guard permits me too," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye. All of the girl's ears turned a slight shade of red as they all nodded in agreement, not wanting to defy their headmaster.

"I'll talk to you later, Andy," said James as he left the hospital wing with the rest of the group.

"Well, Miranda, I must say you certainly know how to get everyone's attention. But then again, I would expect nothing less coming from the granddaughter of Andrea Callaway," said the wise professor as he took a seat next to her bed.

"Uh, thank you," said Andy, still a little surprised to find her headmaster visiting her. In the four years she had been at Hogwarts, she had only talked to the headmaster on a few occasions. One of them being the first time she met him at her grandmother's house, and the others being sent to his office on the rare occasion that she had been caught playing a prank on one of the students.

"Umm, professor I don't really mean to be disrespectful but, I was wondering," said Andy choosing her words carefully.

"Wondering why I've come to pay you a visit," finished the professor. Andy simply nodded.

"I've actually just come from informing your family that you have awaken and that you should be released from the hospital wing within a few days. But I've also come to bring you word from your grandmother."

"My gran?" said Andy a little confused.

"She wanted me to inform you that although she is highly disappointed in your reckless behavior, she is proud of you none the less for saving the life of your friend. As is the whole school and especially your house for that matter," said Dumbledore with a smirk.

"Professor about James. It wasn't his fault," said Andy quickly.

"Why would one presume that Mr. Potter was at fault?" said Professor Dumbledore.

"Well…I guess because…I mean, didn't James say that he caused the accident," stuttered Andy.

"Yes he did," said Dumbledore calmly.

"But it wasn't his fault! If it was anyone's it was mine. I shouldn't have use that charm to destroy the boulder. Professor, please don't punish James or the rest of the guys," said Andy quickly.

"Miranda," said Dumbledore, raising his hand to calm Andy down. "No said that it was. Now as for a punishment, I believe that this whole experience has been punishment enough for everyone."

"So…you're not going to kick him or the rest of the Marauders out?" said Andy.

"I do not see for the need for such measures at this time," said Dumbledore with smirk and a sparkle in his eyes. "Now I suggest that you get some rest, while I go and see Madame Pomfrey. Feel better soon, Ms. Starmenter."

"Thank you, professor," said Miranda. With that, Dumbledore gave a small bow to Andy and made his way to Madame Pomfrey's office.

__

'Rest? I've been in a coma for the past week, and he wants me to sleep?' thought Andy as soon as she saw Dumbledore enter the nurse's office.

"I've got to get out of here, before I go insane," said Andy to herself as she climbed out of bed and made her way to the closed doors.

While Professor Dumbledore was inside with Andy, the rest of the groups decided to head back up to the common room to work on some homework that was due soon. All expect for two students…

"Hey, Potter. Can I talk to you for a moment?" said Lily.

"Uh…sure. I guess," said James, a little take back by Lily's forwardness. Suddenly that all too familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach was slowly growing again.

"Look Potter, I want to apologize," said Lily with some difficulty.

"Excuse me?" said James, not sure if heard her right. _'She's apologizing to me?'_

"You heard me," said Lily as she looked straight into James hazel eyes. "I want to apologize to you about before. I shouldn't have went off on you like that. Although you did sort of cause the accident. I was just worried about my best mate is all," said Lily with some difficulty.

Knowing that that was the best sort of apology Lily could come up with under these circumstances, James accepted it.

"Thanks Evans. You know, Star's lucky to have a friend who cares about her as much as you do," said James with a smile. Lily couldn't help but smile and blush at the comment and at the look James was giving her.

"Thanks, Potter. That was…really sweet," stuttered Lily as she started to feel a little uncomfortable with the situation. "Well I guess I should get going."

"Yeah, me too," replied James not wanting to add any more to the awkwardness. "See you around, Evans."

With that, Lily turned around and began to make her way back up to Gryffindor tower. James couldn't help but be mesmerized by the flowing locks of auburn hair that bounded down the hall.

'Get a hold of yourself mate. This is crazy! Why would I check out Lily like that? It's not as if I fancy her or anything.' thought James. "Padfoot's right. I need to stop hanging around Andy. I'm starting to sound like a girl," said James to himself as he turned and headed toward the library.

Unknown to anyone, the door to the hospital wing had been opened a crack allowing Andy to over hear and see the conversation between James and Lily.

'Did he just check Lily out? He did it again! Why on earth would he do that, unless,' thought Andy until the idea struck her. 'No way. James and Lily?' Andy lend against the door to the hospital wing and contemplated the thought of James fancying her best friend.

"Oh my god that's it!" said Andy aloud to herself with wide eyes. "That's why he's been acting so strange around her," she said as she recalled all the times James had acted strangely whenever Lily was near.

"James likes Lily! James and Lily. Lily and James," said Andy a couple of times trying to picture them together as a couple. After a few moments, Andy came to the conclusion that they did make a pretty cute couple.

"I guess opposites really do attract."

* * *

**Disclaimer** I don't own anything. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling.


	13. The Way You Make Me Feel

****

Days in Avalon

Chapter Thirteen: The Way You Make Me Feel

By midterms, thing were back to normal as to be expected. The day after exams students packed up their things and headed down to catch the Hogwarts Express home for the Christmas holiday. Lily, Andy, and Kelly decided to spend their holiday at school, since none of them had really ever stayed to experience Christmas at Hogwarts. Unfortunately for them, three boys decided to stay also.

That night in the common room, Lily and Kelly sat by the fireplace each enjoying a book, while Remus wrote a letter to his parents. Meanwhile, James and Sirius were seated in a corner playing a game of wizard's chess. Things were quite for a while, until the sound of the portrait swinging open caused everyone to stop momentarily. Andy climbed through the porthole after just coming back from sneaking off to Hogsmeade to pick up a few last minute presents.

"Hey gals. What's up?" said Andy as she took a seat near the fire. Lily noticed that her cheeks were slightly red from the cold night wind.

"Nothing really. Where have you been?" said Lily, as she put down her book for a moment.

"Out and about. Needed to pick up a few last minute things," said Andy with a smirk.

"Are things always this quite," said Kelly out of nowhere.

"You'd think I'd know?" said Andy sarcastically.

"You know what I mean. Things are so…boring! I mean I always thought Hogwarts Christmases were full of excitement and events. Not just…well this!" said Kelly as she waved her arms around presenting the common room.

"Well it's not Christmas yet," said Lily. "There still is time. I personally rather enjoy this down time, if you know what I mean." she added as she motioned toward where the Marauders were sitting.

"Oh who cares about them!" said Kelly.

"Well what is it that you want?" said Andy.

"I don't know. How about some gossip. You know stuff we use to joke around about," said Kelly, feeling like she was about ready to explode.

"Kel, what has gotten in to you? Do you miss Wood that much?" said Andy.

"I don't know. I guess so," said Kelly as she began to calm down. "He said that he had some sort of a surprise for me. But I don't know what!"

"Maybe it's an engagement ring?" said Lily jokingly.

"Ring! Y-you don't think that it's…" said Kelly shocked at the statement.

"Ha ha…that was a good one Lily," giggled Andy.

"Kelly it was a joke. No, I don't think that. Besides you two have been going out for only a couple of months now right?" said Lily.

"Yeah, I guess your right. Gods what was I thinking?" chuckled Kelly.

"You weren't," said Lily jokingly, as she got up from her seat.

"Where are you off to?" said Andy.

"Upstairs. I got to go check on something. I'll be back," said Lily as she left the common room.

"What do you think she's up too?" whispered Kelly as she leaned closer to where Andy was sitting.

"Don't really know. Probably seeing if she put a book away or something," replied Andy. She glanced over at the guys sitting over in the corner. Remus, looking a little bit better than last week, was finishing off his letter, while James and Sirius were concentrating on their game at hand. Well at least one of them was. For some reason James kept glancing over Sirius's shoulder toward the direction of the girl's dorms.

Ever since that day she overheard Lily and James talking outside of the hospital wing, Andy has been wondering if what she saw was just her imagination or was James really interested in her best mate. As she was contemplating this, she could hear Lily coming back from their room. All of a sudden, an idea popped in her head. _'Let's see what you think about this Jay?'_

"Hey Kel, you want a little excitement?" whispered Andy quickly. Kelly eagerly nodded to her in response. "Watch this." At that point Lily had just reached the common room and was coming back to where Kelly and Andy sat.

"So Lily, what have you been up too?" asked Andy sweetly and a little on the loud side.

"Nothing really," said Lily genuinely.

"No new projects. No new attractions?" said Andy. She kept an eye on the raven-haired boy to see if he was listening in at all. He wasn't.

"Um…no," said Lily wondering what her best friend was getting at.

__

'This is getting me nowhere. Okay drastic measures,' thought Andy.

"Ah, come on Lil. You know you can tell us," said Andy with a smirk.

"Tell you what?" said Lily completely lost.

"Lily Evans I can't believe you!" shouted Andy as she jumped up dramatically. "After everything we've been through, you can't even admit it!"

"Admit what?" said Kelly a little confused.

"Felicia told me everything before she left for holiday," said Andy a little cocky.

"Told you what, exactly," said Lily with a raised eyebrow.

"She told me about your secret crush," sang Andy, as she noticed James trying to find it rather difficult to concentrate at the task at hand.

"Hey Prongs, you gonna move or not? You know I'm not getting any younger here," said Sirius jokingly. He knew about James's little crush on Lily even though he didn't admit it yet that he liked the girl. After seeing the way he checked her out after their little conversation in front of the hospital wing a couple of weeks back, there was no doubt in his mind now of his best friend's feelings.

"Huh? Oh, uh sorry Padfoot," mumbled James as he moved a pong.

"What secret crush?" said Kelly a little excitedly.

"She told me about how she walked in on Lily here taking a nap, and how she was moaning and calling out his name," said Andy as she pretended to swoon. "And she also mentioned how Lily drew these little hearts with their initials entwined together all over the inside of her notebook."

"And just who pray tell is this person that I call out to while I'm sleeping?" said Lily highly annoyed at this joke. By this time, James was practically sitting on the edge of his seat, wanting to know who this guy was.

"James Potter," said Andy simply with a grin. At that point, Kelly gave out sound that was a half laugh and a half moan of disappointment. James on the other hand, literally fell out of his seat knocking over a few chess pieces in the process.

"Prongs man, are you sure you're all right there?" said Sirius trying to contain a laugh while Remus silently laughed at what happened.

"I'm fine," growled James as he got up and back into his seat. "Must've dozed off or something."

"Yeah right," chuckled Sirius.

"Oh yes, I can't get my mind off him," said Lily sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at the thought. "Now if you are done with these stupid made up stories, I'm going to the library. See you lot later."

"Not up to your usual standards there, Andy," said Kelly as Lily left.

"Eh, guess I'm loosing my touch," said Andy as she shrugged her shoulders and took a seat on the couch.

'_Gotcha Jay_,' thought Andy as she looked over at the boys.

As Christmas morning arrived, Hogwarts sat peacefully basking in the Christmas air, while everyone in the castles continued to sleep on. Lily was curled up in her bed with the covers drawn close to her and having a wonderful rest. That was until someone began shouting her name.

"Lily! Lily wake up!" shouted Kelly.

"Hmmm…five more minutes mum. Just five more minutes," mumbled Lily sleepily as she drift back into a deep sleep. Even though her eyes were shut tightly, she could still sense that someone had drawn her bed hangings and let in the morning light.

"Oh, but Lily dear," whispered Andy sweetly as she got close to Lily's ear pretending to be her mum. "If you don't wake up, you won't be able to see James being kicked out by McGonagall."

"Yeah, and Sirius too," chimed Kelly.

"Now I know you lot are lying," said Lily as she sat up in her bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Why's that?" asked Kelly who was standing at the foot of the bed in her pajamas.

"Because Andy here, isn't dancing around and throwing a parade to commemorate the event," yawned Lily.

"Told you that was going to far," said Andy in a matter of fact tone to Kelly. "Come on sleepy head. It's Christmas!"

As Lily became more awake, she noticed the large pile of presents at the foot of her bed. In a matter of seconds, Lily was tearing away at all the different colors of Christmas paper to get to her gifts. All three girls received a variety of new clothes, sweets, and various items.

Lily had received a couple of new books on various subjects, a couple of new sweaters, and a new astronomy map from her parents. She also got a sneakoscope from Felicia, a new journal and charm book from Karen, a cute little trinket box from Kelly, and a picture frame from Andy with a picture of the two of them taken during their summer trip to India with their families.

Kelly got some new outfits from her relatives and a new charm bracelet from her parents. From Lily she got a new artist kit full of different colored chalks, oil paints, and markers. Felicia had given her a little charm that read 'best buds' on it, along with a couple boxes of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Andy had gotten her a book on how to draw practically everything in the world, along with a new set of paintbrushes and some chocolate frogs. Karen had gotten her a drawing tablet that would never run out of paper along with a cute blue beret that some artists wear. She also got a gold necklace with little gold snowflakes on the chain along with a pair of gold snowflake earrings from Braden.

Andy also got a few new items of clothes that her mother made as test products for her new collection, while her father gave her a new jewelry box that had an antique pen in it. From her friends she received a new broom service kit from Kelly, a new joke book from Felicia, a new astronomy book and mystic book from Karen, and a photo album from Lily that had a variety of pictures of the five of them taken throughout the years. She also received a magic mirror from her grandmother that had been in her family for generations. This magic mirror not only gave advice to the owner, but allowed Andy to be able to spy on others, so long as there was another mirror nearby, and showed past events that had occurred in her family's history.

"Wow! I can't believe your gran gave this to you," said Kelly in astonishment. "It's kinda like out of Snow White or something."

"Oh so now I'm a wicked queen?" said Andy jokingly.

"Well we always said that you were a wicked witch," said Lily. Andy quickly picked up her pillow and threw it at Lily hitting her square in the face.

"I still don't get why she sent me this. I mean it's a great gift, but if there is one thing that she prizes above anything else she owns, it's this," said Andy.

"Well why don't you contemplate the mystery after breakfast," said Kelly as she put on a robe.

"Breakfast? Hey what time is it?" said Andy turning away from the mirror.

"Uh…three minutes to eight," said Lily. "Why?"

"Crap!" said Andy quickly as she rushed out of the room while throwing on her bathrobe.

"Andy, wait up! What's going on?" said Lily as her and Kelly darted off after her. They followed her down the stairs to the common room and up the stairs to the boys dormitory until they came to a door marked 'Fifth Years'.

"Remember…last year…when Jay and Blackie…played the trick on us…right before we went home on holiday?" said Andy as she tried to catch her breath.

"Yeah, they charmed a group of wooden toy soldiers to march around our room, while music from the 'Nutcracker' played, for the entire day," said Lily.

"Urgh, I hated those little buggers. I must have stepped on at least ten of them," winced Kelly. She subconsciously rubbed the bottom of her foot remembering the pain.

'Yeah, well now it's time for a little pay back," said Andy as she opened the door a crack to reveal the three boys sleeping in there beds completely normal. She then closed the door again and waited for the clock to chime the new hour. After a few moments, the three girls heard the clock in the common room chime eight in the morning.

"Showtime," said Andy once the chiming had stopped.

As she opened the door again, Lily and Kelly saw that the room had now been transformed into a winter wonderland with mounds of fresh covered snow covering the entire room, including the boys themselves. In the corner of the room, Lily noticed a massive snowman, which was holding a broom and had a corncob pipe in his mouth. After a few moments of admiration, a soft melody began to play for a bit until another tune began to play very very very loudly…

"_FROSTY THE SNOWMAN…WAS A HAPPY JOLLY SOUL…WITH A CORN COB PIPE…AND A BUTTON NOSE…AND TWO EYES MADE OUT OF COAL_!"

The moment the famous holiday song began to play, all three boys jumped up and practically fell out of bed faced down covered in snow. Andy then quickly closed the door and all three girls scurried down the steps to the common room where they all busted out into a fit of giggles.

"That was a good one!" giggled Lily.

"Okay I got to know. How'd you do it?" laughed Kelly.

"Felicia and I came up with the idea a couple of weeks ago. We got the charms together before she left, and I had put it in a gift box that was charmed to unleash the blizzard that the stoke of eight, or when either one of the three opened it," said Andy with a smirk.

"I got to hand it to you, Andy. You sure did put a lot of work into that plan. Now if only you could apply that to your transfiguration homework," said Lily in a smart-alecky tone.

"Well not everyone can be perfect like you, Lily," said Andy in the same sort of tone.

The rest of the day went fairly well. The three girls had avoided the Marauders for the better portion of the day until it was time for dinner. But instead of the normal name-calling and insults, the guys simply congratulated them on a good prank and enjoyed the rest of the day.

Once everyone had returned to the common room, Kelly laid on the rug with her new artist kit and pad drawing a real life portrait of a castle in the mountains during wintertime. At the same time Andy sat curled up in a chair reading her new mystic book, while Lily relaxed on the couch with one of the new books her parents had gotten her.

As James sat in a corner of the common room, pretending to look through a copy of the new issue of _Which Broomstick_, he couldn't help but gaze at the auburn hair girl sitting on the couch. For some reason, he found himself mesmerized by way her bright green eyes ran across each line, and they way her facial expressions changed from troubled to shock to gleeful. He could see a small smile creep across her lips as she became more indulged in her book. When he saw this, he could feel his heart flutter a bit and wondered how he never really noticed her smile before.

"You know if you keep staring at her for too long, she might start on fire," said a voice next to James.

"Huh?" muttered James as he came out of his daydream. He looked to his right and found Sirius sitting next to him with a smirk on his face.

"Evans mate. If you keep staring at her like that for too long she might start on fire, or she may hex you. Although it may not be such a bad idea in your case," said Sirius slyly as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"What are you getting on, Padfoot?" asked James. He could slowly feel the heat rise up into his cheeks while he ran his hand through his hair making it even untidier than usual.

"Nothing Prongs. I'm just stating a mere fact that you have a certain…_likeness_ for the resident good girl," replied Sirius.

"Yeah right, that's a good one there, Sir. Me? Like her? " said James nervously.

"Well that would explain why you checked her out a couple of weeks ago outside the hospital wing," said Sirius simply as he picked up James's forgotten magazine.

"I…I did no such thing," said James a little too quickly.

"Right, and your so called blond haired friend doesn't love to torment me," stated Sirius.

After seeing that it was no use to hide his feelings any longer, James sighed and hung his head in defeat.

"Is it that obvious?" said James quietly.

"Nah. I mean there were a couple of times here and there, but the big winner was a couple of weeks ago like I said," said Sirius.

"Do you think anyone else knows?" asked James meekly.

"Don't really know. Probably not. But this is so comical," chuckled Sirius.

"How's it funny again?" said James not really seeing the point.

"Well it's kinda ironic that the one girl you've got the hots, for is also the same girl you've hated for nearly four and half years now. Plus the fact that she can't stand the slight of you half the time and the other half she practically ignores you," chuckled Sirius.

"It is kinda funny. And watch the next funny thing to happen is you falling for Andy," chuckled James.

The smile that was on Sirius's face quickly changed to a very dark frown. "That's not funny."

"Oh come on mate. I was only kidding," laughed James.

"Yeah well you keep can keep on dreaming. The day that I have feelings for that…_girl_ will be the same day my mother actually pays me a compliment," said Sirius, with a look of the utmost repulsion on his face.

"So when you making your move on the little red head," he added, eager to redirect the topic of discussion.

"Who said I was?" said James.

"Well I just kinda assumed that you would attempt to," said Sirius a little surprised at his friends answer.

"Nah. This whole thing is just a stupid little crush. Probably cause by hanging out with Andy to much like you said," said James as he looked over at where Lily was sitting.

"Yeah, but you are not even going to try to even ask her out?" said Sirius. James shook his head in response.

"What's the point in it? I mean it's not like this thing will last long," said James simply.

"Yeah but you could at least a couple of moves," said Sirius.

"Sorry Padfoot, but I'm not like you. I just don't go over to girls and make some crude comment to them," said James with a smirk.

"You can a least make some fun of it. You could live a little. Come on Prongs, go on and make a grab for the snitch. You know our popularity may go up a little more if you nabbed the ole stick in the mud Evans," said Sirius thoughtfully.

"I'll think about it," said James as he ripped the magazine out of Sirius's hands and started to look through it again. Ever now and then he would risk a glance at Lily and wonder what it would be like to go out with someone like her.

A few days after Christmas, Lily found herself in the common room alone one night. The day after Christmas, Andy and her brother and sister were called away because their grandmother had fallen ill. Apparently her health had been failing her for quite some time, but she had hidden it from the family up until now.

Kelly had caught a slight cold, so she deicide to retire up to her room early to get some rest. This then left Lily to concentrate on a private project that she was attempting to accomplish. That is until a certain raven-haired boy interrupted her.

Lily sat in the corner of the common room, going over a couple of notes she had written for herself, as well as three very large books she had checked out of the library. James had returned from a nightly stroll to the kitchen when he found Lily sitting all by herself. Trying not too much to get her attention, he took a seat on the couch and began to read through a book that one of the other students had forgotten. Every now and then he would glance over Lily as she wrote vigorously on her roll of parchment, and rechecking what she had copied down from the book. He couldn't help but smile and think how cute she looked when she was deep in thought.

"What do you want, Potter?" spat Lily as she noticed James looking at her. This quickly brought him out of his daydream and left him at a loss for words.

"Uhmmm…nothing," replied James quickly.

"Then why do you keep looking at me like that?" asked Lily with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

__

'Think fast James,' he thought. "Nothing. Nothing, it's just…" said James as he trailed off trying to come up with an excuse.

"What?" said Lily not really wanting to deal with him.

"I mean, do you always have your nose in a book?" said James as the idea hit him.

"I don't always have my nose in a book!" said Lily a little miffed. "I mean…why am I talking to you anyway," she added as she went back to her reading.

"Don't know. Why are you?" said James with a devilish smirk.

"Why do you always have to a complete toerag?" moaned Lily, knowing where this conversation was leading.

"I don't see myself like that. I'd say that I'm more witty, intelligent, and devilishly charming," replied James as he got up from the couch, and took a seat across from where Lily sat.

"You forgot self-centered, stuck up, and a cad," said Lily not looking up from her book.

"Wow, never been called a cad before," stated James taking it as a compliment.

"Well I guess I'm just lucky to be the first to call you that," replied Lily with enough sarcasm to fill up the entire room. As she went back to reading her book, hoping that this conversation was over, she noticed a flaw in her project.

"Ah, shoot," said Lily aloud, taking James off guard.

"What's the matter?" said a very concerned James.

"Oh, I was going to work on my potions project, but I don't have one of the ingredients," said Lily offhandedly.

"Which one?" asked a highly curious James.

"It doesn't matter. The potion is too dangerous anyway," said Lily a little disappointed. Upon hearing the word 'danger', James's curiosity skyrocketed to a level that was deemed Marauder worthy.

"Let me see that," said James, as he quickly pulled the book Lily was looking at closer to him. "Pollyjuice potion eh? Evans…I didn't know you had it in you," said James amusingly.

"Relax Potter, it's not what you think. I was only going to see if I could create it. I'm not actually going to take it," said Lily. She could see the mischievous look in his hazel eyes that for some reason she found a little interesting.

"Then how do you know if it'll work, if you don't try it?"

"I'll know by the color. See it show it right here," said Lily as she reached over and pointed to a line in the book. James's heart began to race a bit upon being in such close proximity to Lily.

"Yeah…but that doesn't really mean anything," stuttered James trying to get over his reaction. "You could have the right color, but it cold wind up killing a person."

"Do you really think that I would mess up a potion that badly," said Lily slightly insulted.

"Now who's being self-centered?" said James jokingly.

"Look," said Lily as she rolled her eyes, "it doesn't matter anyway. I don't have the ingredients."

"Which ones don't you have?" asked James. Lily then pointed to the last five ingredients on the list.

"I know where you could get them," beamed James.

"Oh really, where? Because I highly doubt you have these things," said Lily thinking he was pulling her leg.

"Well your right about that. But I do know someone who does carry such things."

"Who?" said Lily taking the bait.

"Professor Portview. He's got a lot of that stuff in his personal cabinet," said James as he lend back into his chair. He was secretly hoping that Lily would be willing to live dangerously for a bit, but he wasn't getting his hopes up to high.

"Potter, if you think that you're going to steal something from a professor, you have another thing coming," stated Lily with authority.

"Who said anything about it just being me? _We_ will go and steal your precious ingredients," said James slyly.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, NO! No way, am I breaking school rules for your enjoyment! I mean I'm a prefect for Merlin's sakes," said a flabbergasted Lily.

"So the more better cover if you are stopped by a teacher. No one will expect you to do such a thing," said James quietly.

Lily gave him a skeptical look, but knew that he did have a point. No one would really expect a school prefect to break into a teacher's personal things and steal some ingredients to make an illegal potion. James could see that he was wearing her down.

"Come on Evans. It won't be that bad. Besides it's that holiday. No one to really worry about."

"I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but…all right," sighed Lily in defeat.

"You will?" said a surprised James. "GREAT! Hang on a sec." He then quickly left the common room and up to the dormitory. A few moments later, Lily heard him return and noticed that he was carrying something in his hand.

"What's that?" said Lily a little afraid and curious at the same time.

"My invisibility cloak. See," said James as he held it up and showed it to her.

"So that's how you're able to get away with such stuff," said Lily fully understanding how he was able to pull off a number of pranks.

"Yup. You can't get caught if they can't see you," chimed James as he threw the cloak over both of them.

The two of them quietly left the common room and made there way down to the dungeons with out running into any teachers, or ghosts. The snuck into the potion master's office to find it empty. Lily then muttered a charm to unlock Portview's cabinet and the two of them began to search for the desired items. After about ten minutes of searching, they found all the items and made there way back to Gryffindor tower.

When the two of them were halfway back, they heard a loud thud followed by an odd noise. Lily stopped dead in her tracks as a wave of fear ran down her spine.

"James, what was that?" whispered Lily breathlessly.

"Don't know. Wait…" he said, feeling that something was closing in on them. He looked down the hall and could make out a large shadow figure of a cat on the wall.

"It's that blasted cat again," whispered James.

He quickly pulled Lily near a suit of armor while they were still under the invisibility cloak. James knew from experience that the caretaker was nearby, which could spell a lot of trouble for the two of them. He knew that Flitch had a sort of personal vendetta against him and his friends, and he didn't really want to give him any more ammunition along with getting Lily in trouble. Sure enough, James could see the shadowy figure of Mr. Flitch walking down the other hallway, closing in on them.

"Who there?" growled the caretaker.

Lily gasped in fright upon hearing his voice. She completely forgot that she was under the invisibility cloak and had visions of being caught and kicked out of Hogwarts forever. She decided to make a run for it, but instead wound up running smack dab into the suit of armor knocking it completely over. Not wanting to find out how close Flitch was now, Lily made a mad dash run back to the common room. She prayed that she wouldn't get caught as she turned the corner and began to run down the next corridor.

Suddenly out of know where, she felt someone grab her from behind, and cover her mouth as they pulled her back against the wall.

"Shhhh…keep quite," whispered James into her ear. They could now hear the caretaker's footsteps hurrying down the hallway. In a matter of moments, they both saw the caretaker holding up his lantern and searching the hallway for them.

"Where are you? SHOW YOURSELVES! There's no use in hiding," said Filtch as he combed the walls with his light. Lily was sure Flitch would be able to see them, until she realized that she was back under the cloak. She could now see caretaker right in front of her, and had the feeling that this was the end, and that she was going to get caught. Not wanting to see her fate, Lily closed her eyes tightly and unconsciously leaded farther into James's embrace, waiting for dreaded moment to happen.

But the moment never came. Instead, a miracle happened. Peeves the Poltergeist suddenly came hurling down the hallway laughing mercifully.

"Peeves! I should have known," growled Flitch as he started off after the Poltergeist. After a few moments of making sure Flitch was out of earshot, Lily and James let out a sigh of relief and quickly made their way back to the common room.

"Talk about a close call," said James trying to catch his breath once they were back in the common room.

"Yeah no kidding," said a winded Lily. After a couple of moments of trying to catch her breath, Lily looked up into James's eyes.

"Uh, thanks for…" said Lily awkwardly as she motioned toward the portrait.

"Not a problem," said James simply.

Lily gave him a small smile and bid good night to him as she made her way up to her room. Seeing her smile like that to him, made James's heart literally jump up into his throat and slowly melt away.

'Why does she make me feel this way?' asked James to himself as he made his way up to his room.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except this story and the character's I made up. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.


	14. The World I Know

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Okay I know I usually put an author's note at the end of a chapter, but this is just a warning to anyone who hasn't yet read, or finished reading the fifth book. As this chapter goes on, I'm going to take a scene and some lines from the book, so this is just fair warning. The first half and part of the last half is all original work, so for those who don't want to be spoiled, these are the parts that are safe. I'll identify the beginning of when I'm taking lines from the book with an underline word since that seems to be the only thing that works._ These parts were written by the wonderful and talented J.K. Rowling. __Okay now that that is out of the way…On with the chapter!_

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Days in Avalon

Chapter Fourteen: The World I Know

As the holidays ended, things slowly started to return back to normal. Most of the students that returned from the long rested holiday were still on their Christmas and New Year's high. Lily and James barely said two words to each other since the night they were almost caught stealing by Filtch. For some reason after that night, James couldn't help but not think about Lily. True, he had had thoughts of her before. But ever since that night, he could do nothing but think of her.

On the night the students returned to Hogwarts, things pretty much went back to normal. Everyone seemed to slip back into their normal patterns, while others seemed to be completely spaced out at times. Andy was one of these people. Since the death of her gran, Andy mostly kept to herself, which was completely out of character for her. Every time Lily, Felicia, or Kelly would try to talk to her about it, she would always come up with some excuse to change the subject, or completely avoid answering the question all together. Everyone thought it was just a phase, but Lily really started to get worried about her best friend when this continued on well into February.

Afraid for her friend's health and sanity, Lily was determined to get her friend to open up to her. Even if that meant she would have to sit on her, or hex her until she broke. One Saturday afternoon, Lily found Andy sitting in the common room alone, while everyone else was elsewhere among the grounds.

"Andy?" asked Lily as she neared her friend. From where she was sitting, Lily distinctly saw her quickly stuff a piece of parchment behind her. It was the same piece of parchment that Andy had been re-reading over and over again since she received it early that month. Lily also saw the cold blank look on her face before she interrupted her.

"Andy what's wrong?" asked Lily again for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Nothing," said Andy simply. She forced a smile at her, but Lily could tell the difference.

"Right, and I'm going to marry a member of the royal family," said Lily cynically as she took a seat next to her.

"So I guess I should start calling you 'your highness' then?" remarked Andy. Lily simply raised an eyebrow and gave her a look.

"Come on Andy. Look, I know you're upset over what happened to your gran. But what your doing isn't healthy for you," said Lily with a deep concern tone.

Andy looked up at Lily and knew that it was no use in hiding what she was. But seeing the look of concern on her friend's face, helped Andy to believe that maybe Lily could understand somewhat as too what she was going through. With that resolution, Andy began to finally open up.

"You know what was one of the last thing she said before she died?" said Andy as she stared into the fire. "She said that 'No matter what anyone says or thinks, you can do whatever you want, and don't let anyone let you think else wise'".

"That's a very good quote," said Lily, not quite understanding where this was leading too.

"Yeah, except it's a lie," laughed Andy darkly. "She lied to me. For nearly five years now she has done nothing but lied to me," added Andy when she saw the lost look on her friend's face.

"How did she lie to you?" asked Lily.

Andy then reached behind her back, and pulled out the piece of parchment for Lily. "Read this."

Lily timidly took the slightly tattered parchment and began to read it. It was a letter from an attorney stating the terms of Andy's grandmother's will, along with some assets that would be split among Andy and her siblings.

"She made you the executor of her estate?" said Lily, somewhat shock to hear. Andy nodded in response and got up from the couch to pace in front of the fireplace.

"Well, maybe it won't be that bad, responsibility wise. I mean, what with splitting the estate up between you and your siblings, you'll probably only have to deal with a few bits here and there," said Lily hoping to lighten the mood.

"It's already been divided," said Andy simply.

"You already split it up?" asked Lily a little surprised to hear that her friend had already made a decision.

"No, the estate was already split up before she died. Everything in that letter, now… belongs to me," said Andy with some difficulty.

"Every…thing?" said Lily wide eyed. Lily quickly rescanned the letter and found the list of items. A mansion outside of Manchester, a cottage in Cambridge, some property in Edinburgh, Liverpool, and Bristol, along with enough gold to fill at least three vaults at Gringotts.

"Holy Cricket!" said Lily in a breathless astonishment. "H-how are you dealing with it?"

"Oh, I was fine until I found out what exactly my life will become," said Andy as her voice grew more harshly. "You know I thought she was just teaching me to be a tough old bird like herself. When in actuality, she was teaching me to be a bloody heiress!"

"Miranda, it's not that bad," said Lily trying to calm her down.

"N-not that bad!" stuttered Andy. "Lily! My entire life has been mapped out for me without even the consideration of what I want to do. The world as I know it now will contain nothing of what I want to do, but me being sucked into the whole 'pure-blood' lot, and having to deal with people like the Malfoys and the Blacks, once I graduate from here. And if that's something that I'm going to be forced to deal with, then forget it!"

"Well what is it you want to do?" said Lily.

"I DON'T KNOW!" screamed Andy in frustration. "Maybe I'll be a med-witch, or work with something dealing with astronomy, or with the magical law enforcement department. I don't know, but _this_," said Andy picking up the letter, "sure is hell isn't what I want to do." After that statement, Andy began to scream in frustration.

"Feel better?" said Lily when Andy retook her seat on the couch.

"Yeah, a little bit actually."

"Good," said Lily simply. With that, Lily took a nearby pillow and hit Andy across the face with it.

"Ow, geez what was that for?"

"For being a drama queen. You told me if you ever blew up again, I was to hit you," said Lily. Andy stared dumbly at her friend and couldn't help but laugh at the way she blew up a few minutes ago, along with Lily.

"As for this," chuckled Lily as she picked up the letter again, "you've got, what, almost two and a half years left to decided what to do. You're reading too much into this. My advise to you is just to wait a couple awhile and decide what you want to do with you life when the time is right."

"Yeah, maybe your right." sighed Andy. "I mean when I talked to Professor Dumbledore when I got back, he said that I didn't need to make any rash decisions until I felt I was ready to deal with the responsibility. Lily I was kinda hoping that we could keep this between us. I really don't want the others to know yet," said Andy.

"Sure. If that's what you want. You have my word."

"Thanks. So what's up with you? How are things at home?"

"Urgh, I kinda wishing I didn't have to go back this summer," said Lily with some disgust. Andy quickly shot her a quizzical look upon hearing her statement.

"I found out from my mum that Petunia's boyfriend is coming to visit for the summer. Vernon Dursley," said Lily with a shutter.

"That fat bloke that ran into me when I was over at your house a few years back?" said Andy.

"The same one."

"Man I was wrong. You've got it worse than I do."

The next few months were very hectic for the fifth and seventh years at Hogwarts. The teachers loaded them down with tons of assignments, essays, quizzes, and tests that were enough to give anyone a headache. A few students broke down in the middle of their studies, but were given a well deserved nights rest in the hospital wing to cure them. Before anyone knew, it was time for exams and the fifth students found themselves sitting in the Great Hall taking their written Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. exam.

All of the students were scattered throughout the hall busy scribbling down answers on their exams. Lily and Kelly were placed near the front of the room, while Felicia, Andy and Karen were placed toward the back. As luck would have it, Andy and Karen were placed next to each other, while Felicia was placed on the other side of the room directly behind Sirius.

As the stop time neared, Andy finished off the last sentence to her answer and stretched out her arms in front of her along with her slightly cramped fingers. Once the she began to regain the feeling in different parts of her body, she began to look around at the other students hunched over their papers writing feverishly and scratching out their mistakes. Karen soon finished as well and the two of them began to silently make fun of the way some people were acting.

Karen was the first to spot Severus Snape hunched over his desk with his nose just barely touching his paper. While Andy noticed James messing up his hair again once Professor Flitwick gave the five-minute warning. She also noticed him turning around and grinned to someone behind him. It was then that she saw Sirius lounging in his chair, tilting it back on to the two back legs and gave James the thumbs-up.

'_Well don't we think we're all that and more_,' thought Andy disgustedly.

Andy and Karen then noticed Felicia eyeing him with a dream like glint. It was then Andy decided to poke a little fun at her and pretended to sigh and swoon dramatically, while fanning herself. It took Karen a great deal of self-restrain not to burst out laughing in the middle of the exam.

Right before time was called, Andy noticed James doodling on a piece of parchment and then quickly scratched it out once time was called. After Flitwick had been knocked back with the hundred or more rolls of parchment flying at him, he dismissed everyone and went into the next room.

Karen, Andy, and Felicia waited near the doors for Lily and Kelly to make their way up the aisles. After which they followed the rest of the crowd out of the castle and into the bright sunshine.

"What's up with the shades?" asked Felicia noticing the pair of sunglasses on Andy's face.

"Going for a new image. What do you think?" said Andy as she showed off her dark specs.

"Why do you need a new image?" inquired Kelly.

"I'm tired of being the sporty one out of the bunch, it just doesn't suit me," said Andy as they neared the lake's shore. "I mean look, Lily is the brainy one. Karen's the shy yet modest one. Kelly is the artistic one, and Felicia is the boy crazed."

"I'm not boy crazed!" screeched Felicia. She and the rest took a seat on the beach and cooled their feet in the water.

"Right…then who was it practically drooling over a certain dark haired boy?" said Karen.

"I wasn't drooling," said Felicia with a pout.

"Felicia, there was a pool of liquid left on your desk from gawking at him," said Kelly.

"I still don't understand what you see in that git," said Andy lied back to catch some rays. A few moments later, all of the girls noticed a bunch of students running toward the weeping willow tree that was behind them.

"Now what's going on!" said Karen, a little annoyed but highly curious.

"Another run in with Snivellus," sighed Andy, not at all amused, as she laid back down after seeing James and Sirius confronting their favorite target.

"Why don't you go stop them?" asked Lily a little confused.

"Uh, because last time I checked I wasn't Professor McGonagall. Nor their mother. Thank God," said Andy in a very blunt tone as she continued to soak up the sun. Needless to say all four of the girls were a little bit surprised at Andy's remark. Normally Andy would go ahead and force the Marauders to stop.

"Since when did you stop caring about them?" asked Karen.

"Since I washed my hands of them and decided to grow up a bit. I'm not their keeper so why should I have to tell them what to do. They're big boys. They can take care of themselves, and if they want to get into trouble with the Detention Nazi, then so be it," replied Andy in the same tone as before.

"Wish some people would adopt that philosophy," whispered Felicia to Kelly. Lily simply glared at them and stood up to brush off some of the sand on her robes.

"Well if you won't do anything, then I will," said Lily in a firm tone. With that she turned on her heels and made her way over to the gathering crowd. From the looks of things now, Snape was twitching and struggling on the ground while shout out a number of curses as James and Sirius towered over him.

"Lily come on!" said Kelly. She quickly looked over at Andy who continued to simply lie there on the beach.

"Hey, not my problem," said Andy as she put up her hands in defense. "It's her turn to deal with them anyway. She _is_ the prefect after all."

While Felicia, Kelly, and Karen continued to watch the scene play out, Andy listened closely as to what was unfolding just a few feet away.

"Leave him ALONE!" yelled Lily to James and Sirius. The girls could see Severus lying on the ground with bubbles coming out of him mouth.

"Ugh, some people's children. You'd think that they might grow up," stated Felicia.

"Yeah, and which one of us has the hots for one of them again?" said Andy as she glanced over toward where Felicia was sitting.

"All right Evans?" said James in a pleasant, deep tone.

"Leave him alone," repeated Lily. "What's he done to you?"

"Well, it's more the fact that he _exists_, if you know what I mean…" said James as he drew up his point.

Andy couldn't help but snicker at James's answer. Even though she was trying to become a better (less trouble making) person, she still had to give James's props for an excellent reason to do to what he was doing.

"You think you're so funny, but you're just an arrogant bullying toerag, said Lily coldly. "Leave him alone."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans," said James quickly. Lily was slightly taken back at his reply, while Andy quickly shot up and turned her head so fast that she cricked her neck, upon hearing James.

'_Please tell me he did do what I think he did_,' thought Andy.

"Go on…Go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again," said James with a slight smile and almost confident tone of voice. Now if it hadn't been for his hand slightly twitching nervously, Andy would have believed his whole confident front.

"Urhhh…James! You _idiot_!" muttered Andy to herself as she slapped her hand to her forehead in disbelief and laid back down on the ground.

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," replied Lily.

"Bad luck, Prongs," said Sirius briskly, turning back to Snape. "OY!"

Like a flash, Snape grabbed his wand and fired a curse at James, causing a gash to appear on the side of his face and spattering his robes with his own blood. Andy and the rest of the girls saw the flash of light hit James and the blood spattering from where they were. Without really thinking, Andy immediately shot up, but Felicia pulled her back toward the group.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa…hang on Andy," said Felicia.

James quickly spun around and fired another hex at Snape. A second later, everyone found Severus hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head, and reveling his skinny, pasty legs and a pair of graying underpants.

Everyone standing around broke out in laughter and cheers, including Kelly, Felicia, Karen, and Andy. Even Lily cracked a grin at the display before her, but quickly returned to her business-like mode.

"Let him down!"

"Certainly", said James at let Snape fall into a crumpled heap on the ground. As soon as Snape was on his feet again, Sirius shouted out a hex that caused Snape to once again keel over and go rigid.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" shouted Lily. In the blink of an eye, she pulled out her own wand and pointed it threateningly at the two. James and Sirius eyed it suspiciously

"Ah, Evans, don't me hex you," said James solemnly.

"Then take the curse off him!"

James sighed deeply and muttered the countercurse at Snape. "There you go, you're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus."

"I don't need help from filthy Mudbloods like her!" spat Snape venomously.

"Oh, no he didn't!" said Felicia with a fire in her eyes.

"Oh, that little punk!" growled Andy as she ripped off her sunglasses. With that the two started to head over toward the crowed group and have a go, but were held back by their two friends.

"Hey, ease up enforcers. Let's let Lil handle it," said Kelly as she tried to hold back Felicia.

"Fine, I won't bother to in the future," said Lily coolly. "And I'd wash your pants if I were you, _Snivellus."_

"Ha ha…that's my girl!" chuckled Andy.

"Apologize to Evans!" roared James.

"I don't want you to make him apologize! You're just as bad as he is…" said Lily as she rounded on James.

"What? I'd NEVER call you a-you-know-what!" said James in his defense.

"Oh please! Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broom, showing off with that _stupid_ Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you--I'm surprised your broomstick can even get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK!" blasted Lily. With that she turned on her heels and hurried away back toward where her friends were.

"Evans! Hey, EVANS!" called out James. "What is it with her?"

"Reading between lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," said Sirius.

"Hey Lily, are you okay?" said Karen.

"I'll be fine. Just leave me alone," said Lily as she grabbed her books, and headed off along the shoreline.

"Lily!" called out Felicia as she started to run off after her.

"Felicia, no," said Andy as she grabbed her arm. "Let her go. She needs to blow off some steam." Felicia nodded in response realizing that talking to a pissed off Lily was a lost cause.

Andy turned back toward where the group and sighed deeply. _'Oh Jay. You're never going to get her like that_.' With another deep sigh, Andy went over her bag and pulled out her wand and stuffed it in her pocket.

"Where are you off to?" inquired Kelly.

"To stop something, before it gets to far out of hand," said Andy as she put on her sunglasses again and walked over to crowd.

"Who wants me too see me take off Snivelly's pants?" asked James, while he held Snape upside down again.

"Aww, Jay now why would you say something like that? There are children out here!" said Andy in a mock-disgusted tone.

"Oh look, if it isn't the other one," spat Sirius.

"Oh look, if it isn't a walking punch line," spat Andy in the same tone. Sirius was about to spout out a counter insult, but James gave him a warning look. "Not now mate," he whispered.

"What do you want, Andy?" sighed James in annoyance.

"Well hello to you too," said Andy as she clipped her sunglasses to her robes. "I just came too see what all the commotion was all about." She walked over to where Snape was dangling and bent down to his eye level.

"Hmmm…I don't know James. Personally I'd throw it back into the lake. But that's just me," said Andy.

"I don't need any of your comments, mudblood," growled Snape. James was about to say something, but was interrupted by Andy.

"Ooohh…I'm _so_ hurt," said Andy sarcastically. "You know Severus, for someone who claims to be so smart, you really need to get some new come back names. Personally I take the name mudblood as a compliment."

"I was right before. You really do need help," chuckled Snape.

"That's probably true. But see being a mudblood is actually being better than a cold-hearted, self-centered, stuck-up prick of a pureblood, like yourself," said Andy cheerfully.

"Go to hell," roared Snape.

"Mmmm, nope. Sorry. But hey, at least your working on those come backs. In the mean time, why don't you just put a sock in it for now," said Andy as she pulled out her wand. "_SILENCIO_!" With that, Snape continued to move his mouth, but no sound came out.

"There. That's better," said Andy as she put her wand away and turned back to James and Sirius.

"Now if only that would work for you," said Sirius.

"That's funny. I was just thinking the _exact_ same thing about you. Do what to test my theory?" said Andy.

"Okay, what do you want, Star?" said James, not really in the mood to deal with another battle of insults between Sirius and Andy.

"Now what makes you think I'd want anything?" said Andy sweetly. She batted her eyelashes to give an oh so innocent look, which James didn't fall for. He simply cocked an eyebrow and glared at her.

"Oh, okay," sighed Andy in defeat. "I was just going to tell you…"

"You were just going to tell us to leave him alone," interrupted Sirius.

"Can I _please_ shut him up!" snarled Andy, as she rolled her eyes.

"Padfoot," said James in a warning tone, before turning back toward Andy.

"I was going to tell you, before I was so rudely interrupted, was if you really wanted to serve detention a week before we go on holiday?" said Andy.

"Why do you care?" asked James.

"I don't really," shrugged Andy. "I just wouldn't want to be you when your mum hears about it."

"How would she even know?" said James not seeing the point.

"Oh, I don't know. Someone _could_ owl her," said Andy with a sly smirk. It was then that James fully understood what she was implying.

"Y-you wouldn't?" said James a little nervous. The last time his mother found out that he had served a detention right before a holiday, he received a howler that practically blew up the moment it entered Hogwarts.

"Maybe I would and then maybe I wouldn't. Do you want to find out?"

James thought for a moment, and decided to not test Andy, even though he had a gut feeling she was just bluffing. With a sigh of defeat, James jerked his wand up and let Snape fall down again.

"Prongs, how could you even listen to her!" said Sirius mortified. James didn't answer him but just continued to glare at Andy, as he stuffed his wand away.

"That was pretty low using the mum card," said Sirius to Andy.

"Yeah, it was pretty low," said Andy as she hung her head in shame, before she looked back up with a gleeful look on her face. "Oh well," she added brightly. She turned on her heals and began to walk away, until…

"Why you little…" started Sirius as he made for his wand that he had put away.

"Sirius!" yelled James. But before Sirius or James could pull out their wands, Andy had already reached for hers and pointed it straight at Sirius's throat.

"Go ahead, Blackie. Go on make a move for it. _I dare you_," said Andy threateningly. Sirius began to blink profusely as he calculated the tip of Andy's wand and the gleam of hatred in her eyes.

"Ahh, your nothing but a waste of my time," said Sirius coolly as he let go of his wand's handle.

"Says the one who chicken out," replied Andy in the same tone before she put her wand away.

"Oh and Snivellus, I wouldn't try to pull that little trick, since McGonagall is heading over right now," added Andy before she turned to leave the three of them to deal with McGonagall.

Later on that evening, James found himself sitting in the common room after dinner. He and Sirius managed to avoid getting detention, but instead had 40 points taken away for attacking a student. As he looked over some of his notes from Transfiguration, he couldn't help but think about what had happen earlier today with Lily.

'_What is with that girl? One minute she annoying as ever, and the next she's so irresistible. She seemed to like me during the Christmas holiday, and she hasn't really been the know-it-all-prefect like she was before. So why won't she go out with me? And what gives her the right to call me conceded, when she acts like the know it all in class?' _thought James.

"Girls are way to complicated," muttered James to himself.

"I thought great ones didn't need to study?" said a voice in front of James. As he blinked out of his daydream he found Andy standing on the other side of the table he was sitting at with a smirk.

"Leave me alone, Andy," sighed James as he flipped opened his book.

"Ohh…someone's in a grumpy mood," said Andy.

"Well you would be too if you had 40 points taken away."

"40? Is that all? You're lucky it wasn't more. McGonagall must have been in a good mood today," said Andy as she took a seat.

"What do you want?"

"Uh, nothing. I was sitting down at an empty seat since there is nowhere else to sit, and the library is too noisy with students freaking out. But if I'm not welcome, I'll leave," said Andy as she started to get up.

"No, it's fine. I'm sorry. Just been a bit preoccupied," said James apologetically.

"What's up with you Jay? Where did you go a few minutes ago? When I walked in, it looked like you were off in Potterland," said a very concerned Andy.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about what happened earlier with Snivellus," said James not really wanting to elaborate.

"Ahh. Sorry about that whole mum thing," said Andy apologetically. "Didn't really know what else to say to get you to stop. So what did the slime ball do to cause you and the buffoon to hang him upside down?"

"Nothing. Just needed something to do," said James straightforwardly.

"He didn't do anything?" asked a surprised Andy. James simply nodded in response. "James, you got to stop doing that. Sure Snivellus is a pompous, arrogant, stuck-up, annoying, little weasel, but if you keep hanging up upside down by his underwear, he's going to retaliate."

"Don't tell me this another one of those big-sister like speeches, again?" whined James.

"James, I'm serious. I know your good with a wand, but your not that good. Severus could have the upper hand at any time. I mean look at today with that thing on your face. If he could pull that off with no problem, then there is no telling what he's capable in the future," said Andy.

"Andy, I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine. I can handle Snivellus," said James as if it were nothing, while digging through his bag.

"Fine, but if you find yourself in the hospital wing, or worse, don't come crying to me," said Andy. As James continued to search through is bag for his quill, Andy noticed a scrap of parchment that fell on the floor.

"Hey you drop something," she said as she bent over to pick it up. When she examined it she saw a hand drawn snitch and an ink blob, which look like someone had scratched out something. Curious to know, Andy performed a removal spell and found that underneath the ink were the initials L.E.

"Hey James?"

"What?" said James as he pulled out is quill.

"Who's 'L.E'?" asked an amused Andy.

"Who?"

"L.E. What you wrote on this scrap parchment. Who is it?" said Andy as she waved the piece of parchment in James's face. When he saw the parchment, all the color in his face nearly drained away.

"Wh-How did you…What makes you think that it's a person?" stuttered James.

"I don't know. Call it woman's intuition. So come on who is it?" asked a persistent Andy.

"It's no one. It's nothing."

"Right. Now judging by the color on your face and the mention of this L.E. I'm thinking that it stands for a girl."

"Give it back," said James as he made a grab for it but missed.

"No. Now let me think. Could this L.E. stand for Laura Engle? Nope that's not it. She's not really your type," said Andy.

"What makes you think it's even a girl?"

"Well then what does it stand for?"

"Uhh…Uhh," stuttered James. He was completely at a lost.

"Right. Thought so. Now let me think…who could it be. Lauren Elway? Nah. Lacy Elsworth? Nope, to young."

"I'm not listening to this," said James as he went back to looking over his notes.

"Leighanna Edwards? No, she's not really in your league. Hmm…who could it be? Lily Evans?" said Andy thoughtfully. She watched for a reaction from James. She saw that James's ears began to turn pink, and that he began to squirm in his chair a bit.

"Ah-HA! I knew it! I KNEW IT! It is her? Isn't it?" screamed Andy gleefully.

"E-Evans? Yeah right," chuckled James.

"Don't lie to me, Potter. You know your bad at it when it comes to me. Besides, I saw you checking her out," said Andy smugly.

"When?"

"Why should I tell you, since you're the one calling me a liar," replied Andy coyly. Seeing that it this was a battle that he was loosing drastically, James decided to come clean.

"All right! All right. If you must know then, yes, they stand for Lily. There are you satisfied?" said James in defeat.

"Immensely. But I already knew."

"How?"

"Well I did see you check her out after the accident outside the hospital wing," said Andy.

"Yeah, well that's probably the last time I'll do that," said James in a matter of fact tone.

"Why's that?"

"Come on, Andy. You saw what happed when I asked her out. She practically told me to drop dead. I don't understand why she said 'no'. Why is your type so difficult," sighed James.

"Well for starters, we're not the difficult ones. You are. Also, you were practically black-mailing her into going out with her," said Andy.

"So then how do I ask her out then 'oh great one'?" asked James as he fell back into his chair.

"Well the first thing to do, is to avoid black-mailing potential dates. Second, you need to stop acting like that prat you hang out with. Which now that I've said that is a lost cause right there," sighed Andy.

"Why can't I go back to the world I know," said James as a throw away question.

"Sorry, James but this is what happens on the road to growing up. Once you've started down the path, there is no turning back," stated Andy.

"Alright there, Dumbledore," said James jokingly, ending the conversation and heading upstairs to his room to get some rest before another day of exams.

**

* * *

A/N** Well there it is, chapter 14. I will give you a little preview of what's to come in the next chapter: It's going to start at the beginning of their sixth year, and there are going to be some changes in personality for some characters and hidden secrets that will be revealed in later chapters. Okay that's all I'm saying for now.

**Disclaimer:** Look I've told you once, I've told you thirteen other times. It's all J.K. Rowling. I own nothing except this stories idea and the characters I made up.


	15. These Days

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Fifteen: These Days**

The summer holiday brought a lot of changes for the students of Hogwarts; some good and some bad. Over the break, Lily not only had to deal with Vernon Dursley's visit, but Petunia's love sick puppy act as well. When he first arrived, Lily didn't really think much of him except for the fact that he looked liked an over stuffed turkey in his clothes. She mostly kept to herself while he visited the Evans household, busying herself with schoolwork and reading about the latest developments in the Wizarding world from the comforts of her bedroom. For almost two entire weeks, Lily gave off no hints that she was a witch while Vernon was over.

But that all changed three days before Vernon was suppose to leave. Mr. and Mrs. Evans went off one day to run some errands leaving Lily, Petunia, and Vernon alone in the house. Lily came down from her room to get something from the kitchen when she over heard Petunia and Vernon talking about Lily behind her back. Vernon made fun of everything from the way she looks and dresses down to the fact that she spent so much time in her room. After hearing enough about how she was being made a fool of, Lily's temper got the better of her and caused the cushy chair that Vernon was sitting in to engulf him and spin around in mid air madly.

Although she had performed serious magic and had broken the underage restriction law, the Ministry of Magic let Lily off with a strict warring due to her impeccable record and grades had Hogwarts. Her parents on the other hand grounded her for a few weeks, much to Petunia's dislike. She wanted her sister to be thrown out of the house for her attack on her boyfriend. For the rest of the summer holiday, Petunia made it her sworn duty to punish Lily and make her life miserable.

Lily had grown use to her sister's cruel nature and hatred, but she unfortunately had to endure it without any contact with her friends. She heard from them the first week or so before they all went off on holiday trips. It was pretty common for Felicia, Karen, and Kelly to not write until a couple of weeks before school started. But what was odd was the fact that Andy hadn't written a letter at all. The last thing Lily heard of her best friend was that her parents had something important to discuss with her before they went on their trip to France. When Andy told her this, Lily couldn't help but notice that this didn't sit all to well with her.

As September first neared, she started to get more letters from her friends talking about their trips and how they couldn't wait to see her and tell her more in person. But when Lily received a letter from Andy a few days before they were due back at Hogwarts, she seemed rather blunt and monotonous. So unlike their other friend's letters. Lily didn't really tell the others about what had happen with Vernon Dursley in her letters, but was fully intent on telling them on the train ride up to Hogwarts.

When Lily arrived at King Cross Station, she quickly said good-bye to her parents and casually passed through the barrier onto platform 9 ¾. Once she was through and making her way toward the train, a familiar voice came up from behind her.

"Well look who it is. Everyone's favorite prefect," said Felicia who was with Karen.

"And if it isn't the boy-crazed wench. Ready for another year of dates?" said Lily jokingly.

"More like chasing after a certain dark-haired boy again?" said Karen.

Felicia looked a little ashamed, but quickly brushed it off with an eye roll and her response, "I've learned my lesson. I must not chase the boys."

Karen and Lily were astonished with her response and the tone of maturity in her voice. That was until Felicia added, "I actually plan on having them chase me."

Lily couldn't help but let out a small groan and felt somewhat of a naïve girl for thinking that one of her best friends would change for the better. Karen let out a small chuckle and noticed a couple of boys gawking at something down at the other end of the platform. From where they were standing, the three friends noticed a highly attractive looking girl making her way through the crowded platform.

"Looks like you're going to have some competition this year," stated Karen. The girl had light brown hair flipped up in a clip, and was wearing a pair of jeans, a white lacey tank top, and a black sweater duster with dark sunglasses.

"Who do you think she is?" said Felicia right as the girl stated to walk toward them. When a couple of people moved along, they could see Kelly was along side the so-called mysterious girl.

"Wait a second…is that…?" said Karen in shock when the pair were only a few feet away.

"Oh my…" whispered Felicia, stunned.

"Hey gals! What's up?" said the cheerful voice of Andy. Lily, Felicia, and Karen stood in absolute astonishment at their friend's transformation from a few months ago. Kelly and Andy began to get a little worried of their friends when they hadn't said a word for a couple of moments.

"Uh…hello?" said Andy as she waved a hand in front of their eyes to snap them back into reality.

"You guys alright? Who are you staring at?" inquired Kelly as she glanced around behind her.

"A-Andy?" stuttered Lily.

"Yeah, last time a checked," said Andy, not knowing what was going on.

"Ummm…uh w-w-what happened?" said Lily, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"What do you mean?" inquired Andy as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear that had fallen out, and realizing what had caused her friend's to go temporary mute. "Oh this?" The three of them simply nodded, while Kelly stifled a giggle.

"Well I told you that I was going for a new image. What? Do you think it looks bad?" said Andy a little worried.

"Heck no!" stated Felicia. "It's a little surprising, but it looks great. Especially the hair."

"Thanks!" exclaimed Andy as the group of friends greeted each other with hugs.

"Andy are you okay?" said Lily, while the others began to chatter about their trips.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" inquired Andy.

"Don't know…just…never mind," finished Lily with a smile.

"So Kelly, now's Braden doing?" asked Felicia.

"Oh, he's fine. Busy with his job at the ministry," said Kelly. The girls started to make their way over to the train to load their trunks on.

"Ministry? I thought he was going to be a professional Quidditch Player?" said Andy a little surprised.

"Well that was the plan. But he changed his mind for some reason."

"Weird," said Felicia. "Well I guess we should get on."

As the girls began to heave Lily and Kelly's trunks up onto the train, Karen happened to see a few cars down, some highly familiar faces.

"Oh, look if it isn't the resident losers," huffed Karen as she tried to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry does it look like I care," grunted Andy as she helped push Lily's trunk up into the car.

"Still on that trip are we?" strained Felicia as she helped Kelly lift up her own trunk.

"Sirius, look. There she is!" said James noticing Lily on the train, trying to pull a trunk in the car.

"Oh geez, not this again. I had to deal with you and your infatuation with her for the entire summer," sighed Sirius as he rolled his eyes. "Come on, Prongs. You've already asked her out and she told you no. Why bother chasing after her?"

"Sorry mate. I'm not like you who had a date every night since you ran away," said James, finding it hard to tear his eyes away from Lily.

"Would you keep your mouth shut about that!" roared Sirius as he looked around to make sure no one heard. "I don't need people looking down on me more then they already are."

"Sorry. Besides I thought you didn't care about what people thought."

"I don't. I just don't like people giving me that 'no good scoundrel' look."

"You know I still think you'd make a better dog than a man," chuckled James. Sirius simply let out a dog-like growl.

"So what will it be this year gents?" said Remus coming back from storing his trunk away with Peter in toe.

"Hunting down Snivellus again or picking on some of the new Slytherins?" said Peter excitedly.

"Calm down, Wormtail, before some gets wind," said James.

"I don't know about you mates, but I'm thinking about taking on a personal task. And that girl there will become my first prey," said Sirius gesturing over toward a light brown haired girl with her back to him.

"Right like you could get a girl like that," said Remus jokingly. Sirius simply glared at him and began to make his way over to where she was standing.

"Well, good luck there mate," said James trying to contain his laughter.

"Hey James. Is it just me, or does that girl look familiar?" said Remus as he noticed Sirius's target talking to Kelly and Karen.

'Now to put on the ole charm,' thought Sirius as he came up behind his new target. He had a sly sort of grin on his face, and didn't notice the two people the girl was talking to.

"Mmm…Excuse me. I don't mean to sound like a creep or anything, but you've got to be the most prettiest girl I've ever laid eyes upon," said Sirius in a deep smooth tone.

Kelly and Karen stood in shock as to whom he was addressing, but tried to contain a fit of giggles that began to rise in them. Andy bit her tongue from trying to keep the laugh that wanted to come out. She shook her head slightly to tell her friends to keep quite. In the mean time, Felicia and Lily returned from the train looking a little confused.

"Oh, really," said Andy in a false French accent. 'Oh I'm going to have so much fun with this!'

'Ah, a French girl! This should be fun,' thought Sirius. "Yes. Forgive me, but I can't help but be captivated by your beauty. Would it be appropriate if I asked you out on a date?"

Andy tried desperately to keep from busting out laughing, turning her face a bright shade of red. But upon hearing the word 'date', Andy almost began to choke on her contained laughter. Lily, Kelly, and Karen looked as if they were about to die from laughter. They couldn't believe that this was actually happening. Felicia on the other hand, did find it highly amusing, but couldn't help but be a little jealous.

"Date?" croaked Andy. She quickly cleared her throat and continued to speak in her false accent. "Wouldn't you like to know who you are asking out before you make an offer?"

"Uh Sirius. I don't think that's such a good idea," said Lily right as James, Remus, and Peter came up.

"Uh, Padfoot. I'm not sure…" started Remus.

"Would you guys shut it," said Sirius in a low tone.

"Actually they're right. You definitely don't want to do that…Blackie!" said Andy as she turned around to face Sirius.

Sirius stood in absolute shock and horror at what he had just did, and who it was he did it to. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. By this time, the roar of bottled up laughter had finally burst, while James, Remus, and Peter looked on with amazement, before joining in on the laughter. After a few moments, Sirius regain a voice that was not his own.

"S-S-Sparky?" he said in a high voice.

"I have repeatedly asked you not to call me that," said Andy with some disgust.

"Oh, God," said Sirius in a low voice. He looked like he was about ready to either loose his breakfast, or pass out.

"Hi, Jay, Rem, Peter!" said Andy as she looked over Sirius's shoulder. "Wow. This is amazing. The great and all mighty Sirius is speechless once again! Man, I must be on a roll or something. Although, I must say your pick-up line is a little bit better than that last one. Now what was it again…oh yeah that I looked like an angel that fell from the heavens or to something of that nature," she added smugly.

"W-what are you playing at?" stuttered Sirius regaining some of his composure.

"I'm not playing at anything! It's not my fault that you can't recognize an enemy when you see one."

"Enemy? I thought I was picking up an easy date," said Sirius, knowing that this would get her riled up. Sure enough, Andy could feel her temper rising, but she tried to force down the words that wanted to be let out.

"Miranda," said Lily in a warning tone.

"Nah, I'm not going to go all postal or anything. I won't drop down to his level. He's not worth it," said Andy to herself. 'Ooohh, I hate that smug look on that conceded arse.'

"Okay Blackie. You want to start that again? That's fine, but I'm not going to get involved in another adolescent row with you at all this year or next. So why don't we just state the obvious and make the next two years as painless and less aggravating as possible. You think I'm a great target for your pranks and crude comments. While I think you are stuck-up, insensitive, chauvinistic dumbass. Well, now that I've clarified that you hate me and I hate you, why don't we agree on that and not speak to each other unless it is absolutely necessary," stated Andy. Sirius just stood there slightly stunned at the turn of events, and slowly began to think of ways to make her speak. Andy could see a slight smirk creep up on his face and knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Before you start to think of ways to get around it, the only time I will ever speak to you or vice versa, is if one of us is on fire, is bleeding to death, has been poisoned, or has a rabid dog attach to one of our asses. Savvy?" Sirius simply nodded in response seeing the look in her eyes, that told him not to mess with it.

"Good. Hope you enjoy the last two years. See you at a class reunion," said Andy before turning on her heals and getting onto the train. The train began to give the final whistle to board.

"I guess she told you, mate," said Remus.

"What was that about a dog?" said Sirius as he glared in the direction the girls walked off in.

"Padfoot," said James simply.

"Hey you were the one who said I'd make a better pooch than a man," said Sirius with a smile. "Come on, you can drool over Evans on the train."

"Well that was mighty big of you," said Lily as her and Andy quickly jumped on the train behind Felicia, Kelly, and Karen.

"Like I said, I'm turning a new leaf," said Andy.

"Right. So what's up with you? How was your holiday?" inquired Lily as the girls made there way down the narrow hallway to a compartment.

"Oh it was…" started Andy as she began to dig through her pockets for something.

"What's that?" asked Lily when she saw something fall from her pockets.

"Huh? Oh," said Andy quickly as she grabbed the small metal object. "It's nothing really…just…my…badge," she said in a mumble.

"Badge? Andy you're a prefect!" said Lily a little louder than she wanted.

"Well you don't have to shout it," said Andy jokingly. "Yeah, I'm still a little dazed about that. I think Dumbledore's finally lost it. So, anyway…how was your break?" she added eager to change the subject.

"Urgh, I had to deal with Vernon Dursley," said Lily with disgust.

"Oh that's right. You said Petunia's over-sized boyfriend was coming over. So how did it go, or do I not want to know."

"Well…everything was fine until a couple of days before he left," said Lily trying to avoid eye contact.

"Well? What happened?" said Andy after a few moments of silence.

"W-well…" said Lily before she told Andy the whole story. She told her about how he had been nice and polite to her face and cruel and mean to her behind her back. ("Oh that fat bastard!" stated Andy) Lily also told her about how she let her emotions get the better of her and caused Vernon to be eaten by a chair and spun around.

"After that, I got a letter from the Ministry giving me a warning since I did magic outside of school. My mum and dad were so mad. But they didn't really blame me as much as I thought they would have," said Lily.

"Hey, it's not that bad. I got one of those things a couple of years ago for getting back at some punk kid that lived down my street," said Andy with a giggle.

"Whatever. So what happened to you? Why didn't you write?" said Lily.

"Yeah sorry about that. I was a little bit busy."

"With what?"

"Well, I played a little bit of Quidditch. Got a make over. Parents got divorced. Went on a shopping spree in Paris. Hung out at a couple of clubs," rambled Andy.

"Whoa, wait. What was that again?" said Lily.

"Shopping spree?" said Andy.

"Before that."

"Quidditch?"

"After," said Lily not enjoying this little game.

"Oh, that," said Andy just realizing what she wanted to talk about. "Yeah, apparently they had been fighting for quite some time and it got worse, so they decided to call it quits."

"Andy, I'm so sorry," said Lily.

"Hey, it's okay. I guess after almost twenty years of marriage they've had enough," said Andy trying to lighten the mood. "Hey listen I forgot something in my trunk. I'll see you up front for the whole prefect thing. Okay?"

"Sure," said Lily.

"Oh, Lil? Could we keep this between us?" said Andy with pleading eyes.

"Of course. Secret's safe with me," said Lily with smile before Andy left.

As Lily made her way up to the front, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her friend, and for the fact that she wasn't there for her when it happened. Lost in her own thoughts, Lily accidentally ran into someone in the hallway.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't see where I was going," said Lily sheepishly.

"Ah, it's alright. It was probably my fault anyway. I'm kinda of a klutz," said the boy before her. He was a fairly good-looking guy with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He stood about six feet tall and looked to be about Lily's age or a year older.

"I'm Everett Hayes, by the way," said the boy with a smile.

"Lily Evans," she said as she shook his hand.

"Are you sure you're all right, Lily," asked Everett.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I kinda have to say I don't really remember seeing you around school?" said Lily as she mentally scolded herself for saying such a thing.

"Oh, well I'm a seventh year, and I'm in Ravenclaw," said Everett with a smile.

"Oh! Well…it was nice meeting you Everett. I guess I'll see you around school," giggled Lily. She couldn't understand why she kept smiling at this boy she only just met.

"See you around, Lily," said Everett, as Lily continued her way up to the front. "Hey Lily!"

"Yeah?"

"Um…well, I know we just met and all, but…I was kinda wondering…if you care to hang out sometime at school. Say next week Friday?"

"Uh…well…sure…I guess," said Lily awkwardly.

"Great! Okay I guess I'll talk to you later, then. See you later, Lily!" beamed Everett.

"Bye!" said Lily. As Lily continued to head toward the front of the train, she couldn't stop smiling at the fact that a very cute guy she just met, had just asked her out.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Okay how many time do I have to go over this? I'M NOT J.K. ROWLING! I am my own person who only owns this story and the characters I made up. Everything else belongs to her. Okay?


	16. An Evening in Detention

**Days in Avalon **

**Chapter Sixteen: An Evening in Detention**

As the Hogwarts Express made it's way up the countryside to the school, the students on the train made the most of their time by sharing stories of their holiday trips, playing various wizard games, and for some, pulling pranks on the younger students. Lily told the others about her summer ordeal, and needless to say they were all surprised. Out of everyone in the group, they never would have thought that Lily would lose her cool so much that she would use magic on a muggle.

Soon the students found themselves pulling up to the Hogsmeade station and taking the supposed horseless carriages up to the castle, while the first years took the small rowboats across the lake. Within a matter of moments the students had settled into their house seats to await the Sorting Ceremony. When the last student had been sorted (a boy named Riley Zahn who was sorted into Ravenclaw), Professor Dumbledore stood up to give his normal welcome and warnings of the year. After which, with a wave of his hand, all the tables were filled with a variety of foods and sweets, and the hall once again broke into a low rumble with students chattering.

"Hey gals," said Karen coming over to have desert with friends. "What's up with James Potter?"

"Why do you ask?" inquired Andy as she grabbed a piece of cherry pie.

"Because he keeps looking down here," she stated. Sure enough as the other four girls looked down the table, they found James staring at them and then quickly turning back to talk to Remus Lupin. Andy couldn't help but laugh inwardly at James's infatuation with her best friend.

"Probably planning another prank, or trick, or something," said Lily darkly as she finished off her tart.

"Or maybe he's just checking someone out," chuckled Felicia, as she raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Ha ha, Felicia," said Lily sarcastically.

"Hey it could happen. I mean stranger things have occurred," said Kelly. "Maybe the little urchin has grown up."

"It's possible," agreed Karen. "Just hope he doesn't follow in his best mate's steps."

"What do you mean," asked Felicia.

"Well, I heard," said Karen in a low voice, "that over the summer he's been a little…'busy'…girl-wise."

"What?" said Felicia in shock.

"Oh please! I just ate," groaned Andy in disgust. She suddenly lost her appetite at the very vague mental picture that formed in her mind.

"Yeah, apparently little Blackie over there has become quite the ladies man. And not just in his dream world," added Karen.

"I can't believe that James would ever stoop that low," stated Andy.

"Why?" inquired Kelly.

"Well because James is a gentleman," said Andy as if it were obvious. Lily couldn't help but let out a small snort of laughter.

"Plus if he did go that low, he wouldn't live long to tell the tale, because both his parents would kill him," added Andy choosing to ignore Lily's outburst.

Lily sighed in disgust and rolled her eyes at the mere thought of James Potter. As she glanced down the table, she happened to catch a glimpse of Everett in the corner of her eye. She turned her head toward the Ravenclaw table and saw him chatting among friends. Feeling that someone was staring at him, Everett turned and gave Lily a very friendly smile. Lily returned the smile as she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. When she turned back to her friends, they were all looking at her with raised eyebrows.

"What?" chuckled Lily.

"What's that about?" inquired Andy motioning toward Everett's direction.

"It's nothing," said Lily as she took a sip of her pumpkin juice, wishing they would change the subject.

"That wasn't a 'nothing' look he was giving you," said Andy, beating Felicia to the punch line.

"Andy," said Lily growing even more embarrassed than before. Andy glared at Lily giving her the 'I know you're not telling us something' look.

"So are you going to tell us, or do I have to force it out of you?" said Andy with a raised eyebrow.

"Urgh, it's nothing really. I just…sort of…agreed to see him next week," mumbled Lily.

"You mean like a date?" said Andy.

"Uh well…" started Lily.

"Oh my god! Lily!" squealed Karen.

"Oh, our own Lily flower is growing up!" said Felicia with pride.

"You're not really into this guy are you?" asked Andy. Although deep down she was happy for her, Andy couldn't help but feel a little worried that her plan to get her with James might end before it even got started.

"It's just a date," said Lily simply. "Besides you're one to talk, little miss I flirted with practically ever male on the train, and has a date with most of them for every day of the week."

"What?" said Felicia, Kelly, and Karen at the same time.

"So I have a few dates lined up. Big deal! It's not like I'm marrying any of them. I was just being polite," said Andy seeing how she walked herself right into that one, and now wanting to change the subject. Lily simply gave her a smirk delight.

As the feast ended, Professor Dumbledore dismissed everyone to their dormitories for a good nights rest before classes tomorrow. While everyone headed to their respected dormitories, Andy pulled Lily aside while Remus and the new fifth year prefects showed the first years to their dormitory.

"Okay spill it," said Andy.

"Spill what?" chuckled Lily.

"You know what. When did this whole thing with Everett start?"

"I ran into him on the train after you went to get whatever it was out of your trunk. We got to talking and when I was about to leave, he asked me out."

"Lil, are you sure you really want to go out with this guy? I mean his kind of…well…a stick in the mud," said Andy not seeing a nicer way of putting it.

"What?"

"You know, boring, dull, dreary, unexciting, humdrum…"

"Okay I get the picture. But why do you care anyway? I mean it's not like I'm picking out china patterns, or registering for a wedding. It's just a date."

"Come on Lily. I know you. You can't really say no to people who act all nice and sweet to you. And I'm afraid that you are going to be in a relationship that is so boring, you are going to turn into a mind-numbing troll like Everett," implored Andy.

"Well thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine," said Lily with a smile.

"You say that now," said Andy darkly.

"Everett is a great guy. Besides who would you rather have me go out with? Someone who is smart, sophisticated, nice, caring, and considerate toward others and their feelings? Or someone who is self-absorbed like your friend, James Potter?" said Lily.

"Hey Jay is a nice guy really. He's just a guy who likes to have fun. Something you should try once in awhile," stated Andy with her arms crossed.

"_Please_!" said Lily while she rolled her eyes.

"James's is smart. He's also nice, and caring, and considerate toward others."

"Well if he's such a great guy, then you go out with him. Oh wait you did that already!"

"Geez, Lily. Why do you always have to see the bad in him?" sighed Andy.

"Name one good thing he's ever done? And don't say about your accident last year because if it wasn't for him, you wouldn't have been hit in the head with a rock slide," warned Lily.

"All right, fine then. He sticks up for Remus whenever he's gone off somewhere. Plus, he's helped me out with Transfiguration. He's also helped out a couple of students with their defense charms in class, and he's helped out Peter in practically everything," stated Andy.

"Oh well that makes _all the difference_!" dramatized Lily. "But never mind the fact that he's also used those same charms against those students, or that he's constantly disrupting a class for some reason, or the fact that since first year he's practically made my life a living hell. James Potter is nothing to me but an egotistic, cruel, annoying, and troublesome jerk that takes pleasure in other people's pain. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go to bed now," barked Lily. With that she stormed off toward Gryffindor tower, leaving Andy alone in the dark hallway.

"This is going to be harder than I thought," mumbled Andy to herself as she rubbed her eyes. "Why do I always have to pick impossible tasks?" she asked herself as she head off in the same direction as Lily. Unbeknown to either Lily or Andy was the fact that someone happened to listen in on their conversation. Still feeling the cold, painful, sting of Lily's words James stepped out from his hiding spot and let Lily's word's sink in.

_'She really does hate me. And she's going out with some Everett guy?'_ James thought as he tried to sort out his confusion on his way to his room.

_'Fine then. If she wants to go out with a loser like him that's fine. Urgh why did I ever think I could like a girl like that whiny, goody too shoes, bookworm? Sirius was right. Evans is just a waste of my time.'_ concluded James angrily, as he made his way up to his room for a restless night.

* * *

As the week began, classes were as hectic as they were the previous year. All of the sixth years found themselves being loaded up again with mounds of homework and essays due on various days. But as the days passed one right into the other, Lily was slightly surprised to find that Friday had finally come. She had talked to Everett earlier on in the week, but he didn't really tell her what they would be doing. Just the fact that she should probably bring a jacket and that they wouldn't be going to far.

After her last class, Lily quickly made her way back up to her room to find an outfit to wear.

"So tonight's the big night with your date with Everett?" said Kelly as she came in to find Lily already sorting through her clothes. Andy and Felicia followed in behind her and saw Lily trying to figure out what to wear in the mirror. Felicia put her books down and went over to her trunk to find something, while Andy flung herself on her bed after an exhausting day.

"Ahh my pillow," sighed Andy.

"So where are you off to tonight, Lil," inquired Kelly.

"Don't really know. Everett didn't really give any details. Just that we weren't going that far and that I should dress comfortably," said Lily and she tried to figure out which sweater to wear.

"Hmm…probably plans on taking you to Hogsmeade," said Felicia as she pulled out some of her clothes.

"Oh, that's real original," said Andy in a low voice. Lily turned around and glared in the direction of Andy's bed. She hadn't really talked to her since their argument when they arrived back.

"Either that, or he plans on taking you up to the Astronomy tower to get know you better," said Felicia as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Oh please Felicia. Not everyone goes up to the Astronomy tower to snog," said Andy.

"Well, okay then Ms. Know it All. What else could they do?"

"Hmm…well since it's called an Astronomy Tower they could…oh I don't know…look at the stars!" stated Andy to which Felicia just scoffed.

"Or they could go up their to get away from annoying friends who spend way to much time thinking about the opposite sex," added Andy as Felicia made her way to the bathroom. Right before she closed the door, Felicia stuck out her tongue at Andy.

"Oh real mature, Figg!" shouted Andy.

"What time are you suppose to meet up with him?" asked Kelly trying to change the topic at hand.

"Right after dinner," said Lily as she continued over her debate.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Lil! Just wear the green cardigan with a white shirt," roared Andy, getting fed up with hearing Lily quietly debating.

Both girls jumped slightly at Andy's sudden outburst. Lily glared daggers at Andy who was now sitting up on her bed glaring back, until Andy's face started to relax.

"Sorry. I guess I'm just in one of my moods again. Wear whatever you want," sighed Andy as she fell back on her pillows and pulled out a book to read.

Lily turned back to her task and found that Andy's idea was a pretty good one. _'The one time she has to be right.'  
_  
As Lily finished getting ready, Felicia came out of the bathroom dressed up in a red mini skirt and a black top.

"Well I'm off," she said as she grabbed her jacket.

"Whoa, wait a minute," said Andy getting up from her bed.

"Just where do you think you're going dressed like that?" asked Lily.

"I got a date tonight," said Felicia simply.

"With who?" said Kelly.

"Some guy. Don't wait up ladies," said Felicia with a smirk before she left.

"She's up to something," said Lily.

"Really? You think?" said Andy sarcastically.

* * *

Everett met up with Lily in the Entrance Hall right after they both had finished with dinner as planned. He then took her out onto the grounds where they walked along the lake as the sun set in the west. They talked about a numerous topics such as school, the latest news in the Wizarding world, and about the latest books each has read and movies each has seen, since both were muggle born. After it had gotten dark, they both returned to the castle and headed up to Astronomy Tower for some stargazing. While they were up there they enjoyed a couple of chocolate frogs that Everett had acquired.

All the while Lily was on the date, she enjoyed spending time with Everett and thought he was really cute, but for some reason in the back of her head she had this nagging feeling that this wasn't really right. _'It's just first date jitters. It's nothing more than that.'_

As the evening came to a close, Everett walked Lily to the third floor landing where they would part.

"Well, I had a great time Lily," said Everett with a big smile.

"Me, too," giggled Lily.

"Maybe we could do it again sometime?" he asked slightly afraid of her answer.

"Yeah, I'd like that a lot," said Lily with a warm smile.

"Great! Well I guess this is goodnight then," said Everett. He looked into her bright emerald eyes and Lily began to feel loss in his brown eyes. She could slowly feel him growing closer to her face, and she began to close her eyes. Lily could feel her breath begin to quicken slightly out of anticipation for the moment to feel him kiss her. _'This is it!'  
_  
But the moment never came. Instead of kissing her on the lips like she thought he would, he ended up giving her a peck on the cheek instead.

"Goodnight Lily," said Everett.

"Goodnight Everett," said Lily, a little disappointed that he didn't really kiss her. As Lily made her way back to the common room replaying the evening events in her mind, she didn't hear someone come up from behind.

"Oh look, the teacher's pet," said a voice from behind. Startled by the presence of the voice, Lily quickly spun around and found Severus Snape standing behind her.

"What do you want, Severus?" sighed Lily in annoyance.

"My my, aren't we feisty tonight. What? Date didn't go well?" said Snape with a smirk.

"Sod off," said Lily.

"Ah, ah, ah. Careful there, Evans," said Snape shaking a finger at her. "After all, I am the on duty prefect."

"So?" said Lily not seeing the point.

"So…verbal abuse is a highly chargeable offense," said Snape with an eerie grin. He then pulled out a small pad of paper from his pocket and a quill.

"What do you think you're doing?" inquired Lily.

"Giving you a detention," said Snape.

"What!"

"You heard me," said Snape sharply.

"This is stupid," said Lily rolling her eyes.

"Oh, do you want to challenge me?" asked Snape as he began to reach into his robes for his wand.

"What's going on here?" said a new voice. It was Andy who was coming down the same hallway.

"None of your business, Starmenter," growled Snape.

"Right," said Andy as she looked at Snape to Lily then back to Snape. "I don't so. What are you up to, Snivellus?"

"Giving Evans here a detention ," snapped Snape.

"Excuse me?" chuckled Andy.

"This is ridicules!" sighed Lily.

"Why on earth would you give Lily a detention?" chuckled Andy.

"She's out after hours, and she mouthed off to me, if you must know," stated Snape. Upon hearing his excuse Andy suddenly broke out in a fit of laughter.

"You're kidding right? Come on, Snivellus. That excuse is never going to work. But before you get your knickers in a twist, I'll explain why it won't work. The reasons are one: Lily is a sixth year, which means she's allowed to be out this late, two: she's a prefect, so she really doesn't really need an excuse for being out late, and three: as for her mouthing off to you, she only did that because you deserve it you stuck-up, tattletale," said Andy with malice in her voice.

Severus mumbled something angrily at Andy before diving into his cloak for his wand. At the same time, Andy quickly pulled out her wand out. But before she could even shout off a curse, Snape was flung against the wall. Andy looked over in Lily's direction as saw that she had her wand out and was pointing it directly at Snape.

"What is going on here!" shouted Professor McGonagall's voice as she came running to where they were.

"Snape? How…did you…w-wha…" stuttered a shocked Professor McGonagall. "Explain yourself, Ms. Evans," roared Professor McGonagall seeing that Lily had her wand out.

"Uh, well…" started Lily.

"It's my fault, Professor" piped Andy.

"Ms. Starmenter?" said Professor McGonagall as she turned toward Andy.

"I did it," said Andy with a shrug.

"Andy!" shrieked Lily in protest.

"Oh Lily, would you shut up and quit trying to protect me. I did it, Professor. I attacked Snape," stated Andy.

"Why?" growled McGonagall.

"Well, Snivel…I mean Snape here was harassing Lily, so I told him to knock it off and he wouldn't so I hexed him," said Andy simply.

Professor McGonagall looked at all three of them sternly to see if this story was the truth. Seeing that Snape was indeed all right and too tired to deal with this, Professor McGonagall decided to believe Andy's story.

"Very well then, I'll take away twenty points from Slytherin for harassing a student. And for your confession, I'll only take away ten points from Gryffindor, and give both of you detention. It that understood?"

"Yes, Professor," said Andy hanging her head in shame.

"Very well then. I'll ask that you and Ms. Evans return to your house, immediately," said Professor McGonagall. With a nod from both girls, the professor dismissed them and bid them goodnight.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Lily when they were only a couple of feet from the picture of the fat lady.

"Oh, come on Lil. Did you really want to serve detention all night with McGonagall breathing down your neck?" said Andy with a raised Lily. Lily saw the look on her face and both girls began to laugh.

"I'm sorry," said Andy.

"Me too," said Lily as she said the password to the fat lady.

When they entered the common room, they found James pacing in front of the fireplace looking highly tick. Andy gave Lily a nod that told her she would be up in a sec.

"What's up Jay?" said Andy.

"Nothing, just McGonagall being annoying as always," growled James.

"What did you do now?"

"Ahh she caught me setting up a prank outside the Slytherin common room. It was going to be the best prank the Marauder's have ever pulled! Now instead I have to serve detention with the old bat. Ah, I'm going to bed. I can't wait for Padfoot any more to get back from his date. See you tomorrow, Star," said James before heading up.

_'Well I guess detention won't be so bad after all,'_ thought Andy as she headed up to her room.

* * *

The next day, seemed to drag on for a lot of people at Hogwarts. Seeing one of the last warm days before fall fully kick in, was so inviting to the students that they had a hard time concentrating on their lessons. As the final bell rang for the day, all the students bolted out of Transfiguration except for two.

"Ms. Evans and Ms. Starmenter. I'd like to see up front please," called Professor McGonagall right before the two girls had reach the door. Lily eagerly walked back up to the front of the classroom, while Andy sighed heavily and reluctantly walked to the professor's desk.

"Here is your detention schedule, Ms. Starmenter," said Professor McGonagall as she handed over a piece of parchment to Andy. "You are to meet in the old Defense Against the Dark Arts room in the dungeons tonight. You'll be serving it with one other person."

"Yes, Professor," said Andy. _'Ah, looks like Jay and I will be having a grand old time.'_

"That's all for now. Just remember to be on time. Nine o'clock sharp," said Professor McGonagall sternly.

"Right professor. I won't be late," said Andy before she turned on her heels and waited outside the classroom for Lily.

"Now, Ms. Evans," started McGonagall. "There is a favor I must ask of you."

"What kind of favor, Professor?" inquired Lily, slightly afraid of what she had to say.

"See, the headmaster had asked me along with a few other faculty members to help him on an assignment this evening. Which means that all of the detentions that the others and I have been scheduled to oversee have been re-assigned to different teachers and prefects, except for one student. Unfortunately there are no other available seventh year prefects and our Head Boy and Girl are already overseeing another assignment. So that means I have to choose a sixth year prefect to handle it."

"I understand, Professor," beamed Lily, relieved she wasn't really in trouble and that she was given this responsibility.

"I'm glad you do. You are to report to this location tonight at nine o'clock sharp," said Professor McGonagall as she handed Lily a rolled up piece of parchment. "All of the directions are in there. That is all."

"So what did McGonagall want?" asked Andy as Lily came out of the classroom.

"Oh, I've been asked to oversee a detention tonight," said Lily as she looked at her watch. "Ahh…oh sorry Andy, I can't talk right now. I've got a meeting with Professor Flitwick in a few minutes. I'll talk to you later," yelled Lily as she bolted down the hallway away from Andy.

"Hmmm…wonder if she's overseeing my detention. I got to find James. Ha ha…James and Lily in the same room together. Luckily I'll be there to stop any fights. Who knows, with a little luck and persuasion, this whole crazy idea of them getting together may just work out," said Andy to herself as she made her way back to Gryffindor tower to find James.

* * *

Andy searched the entire tower and castle, but couldn't find James at all. She thought perhaps she'd see him at dinner, but alas to no avail. _'Where is that guy? Oh well, I guess I'll see him at nine,'_ thought Andy as she went up to her room to relax before she had to serve her detention.

As nine o'clock rolled around Andy was seen heading down to the dungeons for her detention. When she reached the old Defense room, she looked at her watch to find that her watch said 8:58.

"Ah, two minutes to spare. Hmm…wonder who could be behind door number one?" said Andy to herself as she opened the door to room. Once she was inside, she found Professor McGonagall in the room already, along with the other person whom she would be serving detention with; a tall boy, with long black hair.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" shrieked Andy in surprise and disgust.

* * *

As nine o'clock came around, James broke out into an all out sprit to get to the fourth floor classroom that he was suppose to report to.

"Sorry I'm late professor," huffed James as he burst into the room.

"I…was held up by Peev…what are you doing here?" he inquired as he saw the redheaded Gryffindor by a desk.

"I'm here overseeing a detention," spat Lily. "What are you doing here?"

"This is where I was told to serve my detention," said James with a hint of disgust in his voice.

"Oh I don't believe this," groaned Lily as she looked up at the ceiling, silently wishing this were a dream. Seeing that it wasn't, Lily decided to get right into business mode before any petty bickering started.

"Here," said Lily handing a James a broom and dustpan.

"What's this?"

"Professor McGonagall wants you to clean out that closet, and then reorganize it neatly and without magic," stated Lily all business-like. She pointed over toward the far closet on the other side of the room.

James picked up the broom and headed over to the closet to see what exactly he had to do. Upon opening it, he found the entire closet full of boxed crammed tightly together.

"You've got to be joking! There's no way I'm doing that," said James in protest.

"Fine. Then I'll tell Professor McGonagall you refuse, and she'll give you a double detention," said Lily with her hands on her hips.

"Like that hasn't happened to me before," said James with a smirk. He took a seat on one of the desks and folded his arms in front of him. Just the sight of him, reminded Lily of a five year old refusing to listen to his parents.

"If you don't do it…" growled Lily feeling her temper rising.

"Then what, Evans?"

"Then I'll go straight to Professor Dumbledore and tell him that you were the one who put that whispering charm on Professor Portview, that made him think someone was calling him," said Lily in a matter of fact tone.

"You wouldn't" said James calling her bluff.

"Would I?"

Seeing the look in her eyes, James knew she meant business. He got up from the desk and began to clean out the closet while grumbling something incoherent. Lily suddenly felt a satisfied grin form on her face as she went over to her bag, and pulled out the essay she was working on for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

About two hours into James's detention, he had successfully pulled out everything in the over cramped room and was sweeping up the years of dust that the room had acquired when he heard an annoying drumming coming from Lily's direction.

"Are you going to be doing that all night?" roared James in annoyance.

"Why? Does it bother you?"

"If I answer yes, will you stop?"

"Hmmm…Nope!" replied Lily as she continued to drum her fingers along the desk.

James gritted his teeth as he created a violent dust cloud with his broom that swept through most of the classroom. He hoped that this might cause Lily to stop that incisive drumming, but to no avail.

"Would you mind!"

"If it bothers you so much than make me stop. That is, if you want another detention," retorted Lily.

"Oh you'd love that wouldn't you!" spat James. He quickly picked up one of the boxes and carried it back into the closet. This continued on for about another hour or so, until James finally placed the last box neatly into the small room.

"There. That's the last of it," sighed James as he wiped his brow.

"About time," yawned Lily as she looked at her watch and saw it was almost midnight.

"Well if you wanted me to hurry, all you had to do was say so," said James sarcastically sweet.

Lily bit her lip in trying to keep her temper in check. She didn't really want to get into another row with the raven-haired boy, but knew that it was almost impossible not to.

"Look Potter, I have spent enough time with you tonight, to last me a long while, border lining on a lifetime," spat Lily as she began to pack up her books.

"Ah, so I still have a chance to be blessed with your presence a little while longer," said James.

"Not hardly. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go see if Everett is still awake," retorted Lily. She picked up her book bag and started to head for the door before she was stopped by James stepping right in her path.

"Everett? Who's Everett?"

"A guy," said Lily simply as she tried to side step him, but failed.

"A guy? What like a boyfriend?"

"Well…he might be. I don't really know yet," said Lily. She was already annoyed with James's presence as is, but now she was ready to mow him down, in order for him to get out of her way. Seeing that he wasn't really going to let her pass until he got what he wanted, Lily reluctantly gave in.

"Look, if you must know everything, we went out once, and he wants to see me again," stated Lily.

"What?" replied James confused and slightly hurt. But before he could say anything else, Professor McGonagall came in to see how the detention went.

"Ah, I see that you have finished, Potter," said Professor McGonagall. She walked over to the closet to inspect it and found everything in order.

"Not a bad job. I assume everything went well," asked McGonagall. Lily and James nodded in response. "Good. Well if you'll excuse me, I have to go check on another detention. Both of you are free to go."

James and Lily quickly left the classroom and walked back silently to the common room.

"Well, goodnight," said Lily once they had entered the common room.

"Why?" James suddenly blurted out. All the while they had been walking back to Gryffindor, he had been plagued with asking her a question that he'd wanted to ask since the end of last year.

"Because I'm ti…"started Lily.

"No. Why didn't you want to go out with me?"

Lily just stared at the boy before her completely loss for words. _'Where the heck did this come from?'  
_  
"Because you're not my type," replied Lily. When her words hit him, Lily saw something in his eyes that stirred her very soul. She could see something that looked like pain, anger, and something else that she couldn't quite place. Feeling sorry for him, she decided to justify her reason with an explanation.

"Look Potter, you _may_ be a nice guy, it just…I don't find you…I mean…what I mean to say is… I just don't think that it would have gone well. I mean come on, we're two completely different people. Plus the fact that we've hated each other since our first year," stated Lily.

"But I don…"started James but was interrupted by the portrait door, swinging open violently. Coming through the porthole, was a very angry looking Andy muttering to herself.

"Lousy, stinking, idiotic, prat! Can't believe that old bat had the nerve…" she muttered as she walked passed both James and Lily and headed up to her room.

"Guess her detention didn't go well," said Lily off handedly.

"She had a detention tonight?" inquired James.

"Yeah, in the old Defense Against the Dark Arts room," stated Lily.

"Uh oh," said James.

"What?"

"Someone else had a detention there tonight too. Three guess as to whom," said James looking behind him, expecting the portrait to swing open again.

"Ah…guess I should get up there before she wakes up the entire dorm. Night," said Lily, before she hurried up the steps to try and calm Andy down, leaving James alone.

James sighed in disappointment as he watch Lily head up to her dorm room. He couldn't tear his eyes away from where he last saw Lily's auburn hair bounce up and down as she climbed the steps.

"I don't hate you, Lily. I just can't stop thinking about you."

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except this story idea and the characters I made up. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.


	17. Deal made in Hell

**Days in Avalon **

**Chapter Seventeen: Deal made in Hell**

"Ah, I see that your partner has finally arrived," said Professor McGonagall. She started to unroll a piece of parchment in her hand and looked over what was written to make sure everything was in order.

"There's got to be a mistake," exasperated Andy.

"Nah ah, no way! There's no way I'm spending a detention with _her_!" stated Sirius as he rounded on Professor McGonagall.

"Professor, this is got to be some sort of joke, right?" said Andy as she came fully into the room.

"I'm afraid not, Ms. Starmenter," said McGonagall as she looked at Andy over her rimless glasses. "You and Mr. Black will be serving this detention together."

"But professor," chuckled Sirius, "You know we can't stand each other."

"All the more reason to have you two work together. You both will clean and straighten out this entire room, and polish every item on the walls and in those piles in the corner," stated McGonagall.

Andy and Sirius could do nothing but stare at the professor in complete horror and shock. As they watched Professor McGonagall look over the piece of parchment, slowly they began to turn toward each other. If anyone had walked in at that precise moment, they would have felt the room turn ice cold as Sirius and Andy gave each other their death stare. Each of them wishing the other would disappear from the face of the planet.

"Now, I'll return later on to see how you've done," said Professor McGonagall as she placed the piece of parchment on a table. At this statement, Sirius and Andy blinked out of their hateful trance.

"Wait, you're leaving me alone with her?" said Sirius in disbelief.

"Yes, Mr. Black. I am leaving you two alone while I attend to matters that the headmaster has asked me to do," said the stern professor as she made her way to the door.

"Uh, Professor? Do you think it's a wise idea to have us in a room like this?" said Andy as she got a good look at the old classroom. Piles of books and papers were scattered on a number of small desks, while a variety of medieval weapons were placed along the walls and in corners of the room.

"Don't worry, there will be no accidence in this room," chuckled Professor McGonagall as she turned to leave. "But…" she added as she turned back, "just to make sure, I'll ask for you both to hand over your wands, now."

Andy and Sirius gave each other odious looks before each reluctantly pulled out his and her wands and handed them over to the professor. McGonagall then took their wands and placed them in a small wood tackle box with a pad lock on it.

"You will get these back when I return," said Professor McGonagall as she pocketed the key. "Now you two get to work," she added before she closed the door and magically locked them in.

After a few minutes Sirius went over to the door to see that it was indeed locked. "I don't _believe_ this," he sighed.

"Speak for yourself," said Andy as she rolled her eyes. She then turned on her heals and headed over to one of the parchment covered tables and began to roll them up neatly.

"What are you doing?" asked Sirius in amusement.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" spat Andy. "I want to get out of here and away from you as fast as I possibly can."

"Oh come on. I'm not that bad," chuckled Sirius.

"Oh I beg to differ," said Andy with malice in her voice. She then slammed her hands against the table sending a cloud of dust to the air before turning to face Sirius.

"Gods, you know…in the past five years, you have managed to get in the way of almost every plan I've had!"

"I have?" said Sirius in disbelief, pointing to himself. "You're the one who always seems to get in my way," he barked.

Andy quickly took a few deep breathes to try an speak calmly. "Look…why don't you stay on one side, while I stay on the other. That way we don't have to talk to each other, or look at each other, and none of us will get in the others way. Okay?"

"Fine," growled Sirius before heading off to his side of the classroom.

"Good," spat Andy.

With that, both Gryffindors busied themselves with their tasks at hand. Each filed the ancient rolls of parchments and paper, and straightened out the desks, chairs, and other bits of furniture. For nearly two hours, the room was silent, save for the sounds of Andy and Sirius moving papers, furniture, and swords around. It wasn't until Andy was in the middle of finishing up polishing the last few swords on her side of the room, when she heard Sirius talking quietly to something hidden in his hand.

"Alright, who in the world are you talking to?" inquired Andy, frustrated and annoyed at Sirius. By that time, he had finished up talking to whoever it was, and turn toward Andy.

"Uh, no one," said Sirius quickly. He walked over to a desk near Andy and grabbed a pile of parchments he had forgotten to file.

"Right," said Andy drawly, eyeing him closely. Sirius merely scoffed at Andy as he turned to walk back to the bookshelf on his side of the room. It was then that Andy quickly picked his pocket and found a small hand mirror.

"Hey!" roared Sirius as he tried to make a grab for it. But Andy quickly dogged his hand and began to inspect the object.

"A mirror? That's what you were talking to?" scoffed Andy. _'Man he really is narcissistic_.' Upon further inspection of the mirror, Andy realized she had seen a mirror just like it before.

"So, how's James doing?" smirked Andy as she extended the mirror back to Sirius. "Having fun with Lily?"

"How'd you know I was talking to him?" inquired Sirius, as he grabbed the mirror back. "And how'd you know he's with Evans?"

"Well, to answer your first question, I've seen James's cart around the same type of mirror. And to answer your second question, Lily told me that McGonagall asked her to oversee a detention tonight. You know I am her best friend after all," replied Andy with a smirk.

"Yeah, well apparently _your_ best friend has been working Prongs like a house elf," sneered Sirius.

"Hey, she wouldn't be giving him a hard time if I was there, like I originally had planned," said Andy. Her tone of voice was growing more harsher with ever word, causing Sirius to turn back around and face her.

"But nooooo," continued Andy, "because while your precious Prongs makes a fool of himself, yet again, I have to serve my detention with _you_! But hey, that's all right, since I get to be blessed with your presence, instead of Jay's and be having a civil conversation with him and Lily. I reckon I have to just roll with the punches life throws at me. So tell me, what is up with your crack headed nick names that you and the rest of the guys have come up with?" Andy finished with a sour smile.

"It's a guy thing," said Sirius simply. "Why did you want to be with James and Lily tonight anyway?" he added while folding his arms in front of him.

"Well, if you haven't noticed your best mate happens to fancy my best mate, so I have taken upon myself the task of helping them get together, and help James stop acting like a complete idiot in front of her," stated Andy, before she even realized what she said.

"Yes, I know about James's little crush on Evans. I had to listen to an entire summer of him going on and on about what he thinks of Lily," said Sirius with a grimace. "Besides, who do you think gave him the advice to ask her out last year?"

"Wait don't tell me, you?" said Andy mockingly. Sirius simply nodded in response with a triumphant smirk upon his face.

"Should have known only an idiot would give that sort of advice to James," chuckled Andy. She then turned to head back to her work, but was stopped by Sirius.

"You're calling _me_ an idiot?" gasped Sirius.

"If the shoes fits," said Andy sweetly. Sirius stood looking at her for a moment speechless, and fighting the urge to strike her. _'Oh if only she was a guy_.'

"Okay genius," chuckled Sirius, "if you're so brilliant, then what would you have done tonight to get them together?"

"Well I…" started Andy as she was about to spout off the first thing that came to mind. But unfortunately nothing really did come to mind. _'That's a really a good question. What would have I done?'  
_  
"I'm waiting," said Sirius smugly. He could see by the look on Andy's face and the fact that she wasn't saying anything, that he had finally caught her in something she couldn't get herself out of.

"Well…" stated Andy again, "I-I didn't have anything concrete planned, but…" she admitted.

"HA!" barked Sirius in triumph.

"_But_ I would have probably came up with some of James's good qualities and shown Lily for herself that he's a nice guy," stated Andy. But deep down, she admitted to herself that what she said sounded pretty lame, since she had been trying to show Lily for the past three years or so.

"Right, like that would have worked," laughed Sirius in amusement.

"Oh, and picking up girls with corny lines is the right way?" spat Andy.

"If it works."

"Oh, really? Well for your information, the only type of girls you'll get with those lines are easy little tramps," said Andy bluntly.

"Oh yeah? And just why should I, or anyone for that matter, listen to you of all people?" inquired Sirius.

"Because unlike you, you pompous pimp, I've actually had relationships," stated Andy in a matter of fact tone.

"Oh is that what you're calling those little flings you have?" chuckled Sirius. "Geez, I didn't know that cheap sluts even knew the word 'relationship'." But before he could laugh at the shocked look on Andy's face, he suddenly felt the extremely hard sting of Andy's hand coming across his face.

"Don't you ever call me that again," huffed Andy as she poked a threaten finger into Sirius's chest. The force of her poking him caused him to back up until his back was to the wall as she advanced on him.

"You can call me a slut, a jezebel, a mudblood, hell you can even call me a bitch. But don't you ever call me 'cheap'. You actually think that I'd let even half of the guys I go out with to even get to second base? Hell no! I'm a high priced witch, Blackie, who wouldn't even let a guy go 'all the way' with out the promises of love, honor, and cherish for all time, and also a nice little piece of ice that would fit on this finger here," she said as she pointed to her left ring finger. "Because my family didn't raise a fool!"

"OW…" groaned Sirius as he rubbed his jaw, feeling the heat radiate off his the side of his face. He could see in Andy's eyes that she meant business. Never before had anyone backed him into a wall that wasn't a family member. Sirius saw Andy's nostrils flaring and her breath quickening due to her rage. Normally when he saw a girl acting like this he would back off, but he decided to still have a little fun with her instead. "Geez Sparky, I didn't know you cared so much to only slap me."

Andy simply gawked at the boy standing in front of her. She couldn't believe what she was hearing as her temper started to hit an all time high and kept on rising.

"Awww…is the little princess going to have another fit?" said Sirius in a mock baby tone. "Oh, wait, you can't do anything since you don't have your wand," he chuckled merrily.

Andy began to walk away from him trying to be the better person until something on the wall caught her eye.

"You're right, I don't have my wand," she started as she head toward the wall. "But I could use this!" Within the blink of an eye, Andy had swiftly pulled off one of the swords from the wall and pointed directly at Sirius.

"Hmm…very funny, Sparky," chuckled Sirius as he raised his hands for show, while Andy began to calculate him. "Okay, fine you've made your point."

"Ooohh wrong choice of words, Blackie," chuckled Andy as she raised her sword to strike him.

"Uh-oh! Whoa!" yelled Sirius as he duct in time, causing Andy's sword to hit a desk, breaking it into two pieces.

"Whoa! Hey! W-what do you think you're doing?" squealed Sirius as he ducted and pivoted from Andy's attacks.

"Getting rid of the _PAIN IN MY ASS_!" growled Andy as she made yet another attempt at striking her prey. Just as quickly as he had dodged her attack, Sirius managed to grab a near by sword and used it to battle Andy.

The sounds of metal hitting metal rang throughout the old dungeon classroom as Andy and Sirius had an all out war break out between them. Usually when they got into their little rows, at least one of their friends or teachers would come along to break up them up. But being that it was in the middle of the night, and locked in a dungeon together, both of their tempers hit an all time high. Both of them deep down knew that the only way this was going to end, was when one of them ended up hurt or worse.

Each of them tore threw the classroom, turning over and destroying desks and chairs to slow up the other. Sirius would run down the aisles weaving in and out to avoid Andy's blows, while Andy ducked under desks and behind stone pillars to avoid the edge of Sirius's sword. Finally, when there really was nothing else to use as a cover or distraction, Sirius and Andy began a full blown hand-to-hand combat.

Although they were concentrating and planning the next move the other would make, both Gryffindors couldn't help but be amazed at the other's technique.

"Hey…you're pretty good at this," grunted Sirius as he blocked a jab.

"Thanks, I was just about…to say…the same thing to…you," strained Andy as she made another attempt to strike Sirius. He quickly ducked out of the way and rolled to the ground. Once he was on the ground, he took his leg and swept it behind Andy's causing her to fall backwards to the ground. But before he could get up to get her weapon, Andy quickly scrabbled for it and rolled back on to her feet.

"Hey where did you learn how to fight like this," grunted Andy as she tried to trip him up by quickening her pace.

"Well, unfortunately…my…parents…taught…me. Thought…it would…make me…a better…Black…You?" strained Sirius.

"My gran, taught me. She thought, it…was…a great…way…to handle…intense…situations," said Andy trying to throw him off.

"Wouldn't it just be better to talk it out, or better yet…get a boyfriend to help you ease those intense situations," huffed Sirius with an impish grin on his face.

"Urgh, you know it's crude comments like that, that won't get you a real girl," grumbled Andy. "I still don't know how James, Remus, and Peter can stand you."

"Really? Well I don't understand how Lily and the rest of your lot can stand you," spat Sirius as he advanced on Andy.

"Oh really mature, Black!" roared Andy. "And you think you could help James get Lily?"

"Well, yes as a matter of fact?" stated Sirius.

"How?"

"Simple. Teach him a few moves, coach him in how to talk to the opposite gender, and presto!" said Sirius with a smirk.

"You mean turn him into a copy of yourself?" said Andy with disgust. "Over my dead body! The world can barely handle one Sirius Black as is."

"Oh, and I suppose you believe that every guy you go out with follows that whole 'be yourself' routine?" sneered Sirius.

"Please!" scoffed Andy.

"Good. I was going to say I didn't think you were that brainless," snide Sirius.

"What as brainless as you? Sorry I don't think that's possible. Not everyone can be a stuck up mommy's boy like you," spat Andy.

She quickly saw something stir in Sirius's eyes, and knew she had crossed some sort of line. Their swordplay escalated to a new height, with steel crashing into steel faster than before and their pacing quickening. As both were getting lost in the task at hand, none of them noticed that they were both slowly growing closer together causing their blades to crap one another until suddenly they felt both something hit them.

Completely stunned at what each had felt, they pulled away from each other and saw that each of their swords had been run through the other. But was more amazing was the fact that there was no blood and neither really felt any different.

"You stabbed me!" shrieked Sirius finally regaining his voice.

"So did you!" replied Andy in the same tone.

"These must be training swords they used back when the school was first open," said Sirius as he pulled Andy's weapon out of him with ease, leaving just a rip in his clothes from were the sword was.

"Must be," grunted Andy as she pulled Sirius's sword out of her. After taking a few breaths, she looked around the classroom that was now completely ransacked.

"Oh great! McGonagall is going to kill us," groaned Andy as she and Sirius served their mess.

Sirius looked around the destroyed furniture and tattered pieces of parchment that were now scattered throughout the floor. As he looked along side one of the walls, he noticed the box that McGonagall had placed their wands in. Amazingly enough, it seemed to survive their battle.

"Hey I got an idea. Do you have a hair pin?"

"Yeah. Why?" asked Andy, not sure of what he was getting at.

"Give it here," he ordered. Andy simply scoffed at him, but complied with his request as she pulled out a hairpin from her hair, and handed it over to him.

Sirius quickly went over to the locked box and began to pick the lock with Andy hovering over his shoulder.

"Do you even know how to pick a lock?" said Andy in skepticism. No sooner did the word leave her mouth did Sirius hear a tiny pop and opened the lid of the box to retrieve the wands.

"Apparently so," said Andy slightly impressed at Sirius's work.

"I know you wish you were me," replied Sirius with a sly grin as he handed over Andy's wand.

"Hardly," spat Andy as she took her wand and began to mutter spells to clean up the mess.

Within fifteen minutes or so, Andy and Sirius had the room back to its original state, and possibly cleaner than before their little swordplay. As they finished up the last of their cleaning spells, Andy began to hear something out side the room.

"Do you hear something?" she asked Sirius. He nodded in response and headed toward the door to hear someone coming down the hall.

"It's McGonagall. Quick!" he yelled. With that, they both quickly muttered the last of their charms to get everything in order. Just as they were about to put their wands back in the box, Andy realized that Sirius's clothes were still torn as well as her own.

"Wait a sec. _'Reparo'_!" muttered Andy as she pointed her wand at Sirius, then to herself, as well as the lock that Sirius had picked. Right as Professor McGonagall muttered the spell to unlock the door, Andy and Sirius threw their wands in the box, locked it, and split up as if they were finishing up their work.

"Well…I see that everything is in order," said McGonagall as she inspected the newly clean room. She was slightly suspicious as to how everything looked so clean when only two students had been working at it for only three hours or so. She looked at the box that held their wands, and saw that the lock hadn't been tampered with.

"Very well then, you may go," said McGonagall as she returned the wands to their rightful owners. Not needing to be told twice, both students quickly made their way out of the classroom grinning madly at their success of fooling their teacher.

Neither of them spoke until they were half way back to Gryffindor tower.

"You think the other detention is over with?" asked Andy, breaking the silence.

"Probably."

"Great, now I get to hear how bad James messed up this time. I hope it isn't like last time," sighed Andy. She could already image hearing Lily going off about James.

"Yeah. Prongs will probably be up waiting to tell me about how Lily went off on him or something like that," sighed Sirius. "I can just hear it now about how he can't believe he even thought that he liked her and how he wished he'd never had met her."

"Lily will probably be wishing the same thing," stated Andy.

"Yeah, I'd hate to admit it but the two are a lot a like. I mean if anyone really did take a look at them, they'd see that really are made for each other."

"That maybe true, but trying telling them that. Geez, those two must be the most stubborn people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting."

"Tell me about," said Sirius agreeing with Andy. "If only someone could show them that they really should be together."

"Right like that would happen. The only way that would work, is if someone forced them to sit down and take a good hard look at each other," chuckled Sirius.

"Yeah or if they were tricked into working together," chuckled Sirius. The moment he said that something popped into his head that caused him to stop dead in his tracks. Sensing Sirius's sudden halt, Andy stopped a couple of feet away and turned back to him. She could see that he's mind was reeling something as a wicked smirk began to form on his lips.

"What are you thinking?" she asked not really sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"I think I just got an idea," said Sirius quietly.

"Really? Did it hurt?" said Andy sarcastically.

"What if…we helped them out," said Sirius ignoring Andy's comment.

"I thought that's what we were doing," stated Andy.

"No, no. I mean what if we teamed up together to help them," said Sirius with his eyebrows raised.

"Together? As in you and me working along side each other?" said Andy giving him a skeptical look. Seeing Sirius nod eagerly caused Andy to break out into a fit of giggles.

"Ha ha…oh man, I thought you were crazy before, but this is ludicrous," laughed Andy as she started to continue onward.

"Why?" asked Sirius as he ran up to catch up to her and getting in her way. "Think about it. Who knows them better than we do? No one, right? And who is good at tricking people into getting things done the way they want it done? Again, both of us. So if we could trick our best friends into somehow working together, that would force them to spend time together. Which in turn should cause them to see how perfect they are for each other."

"Hmm…yeah and there are just a couple of tiny problems with that," said Andy pinching her fingers together to show something tiny.

"What's that?" said Sirius looking toward the ceiling, not aware of any problems with the plan.

"Oh the mere fact that both James and Lily will see right through it, and that it will never work out. And…oh yeah _we can't stand each other_!"

"James and Lily will only see through it if they suspect us working together to try and get them together. Second, it will work if we plan it correctly. The two of them will never know what hit them. Now as for the fact of not getting along, I'm willing to put our differences aside t help out a friend in need," said Sirius with a charming smile.

"You're really serious about this?" said Andy in astonishment.

"Of course I am. Come on think about it. If we worked together, we could get them together faster than on our own," stated Sirius.

"Well you do make a point," concluded Andy as she rubbed the back of her neck. Sirius could see that he was wearing her down and that she was seriously considering going along with the idea.

"So do we have a deal?" said Sirius as he extended his hand to her.

Andy's mind was reeling with the idea of working with her enemy, and she could already hear bells, alarms, and whistles going off in her head telling her that this was a bad idea. But then again, she could see where he was coming from, and it was true that no one knew James or Lily better than they did, and the fact that they were both good at manipulating things in order to get there way.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," sighed Andy as she looked to the heavens for help and strength. "Okay. It's deal," she said as she took his hand and shook on in.

"Good. So when do you want to meet up to start working on the plan," said Sirius.

"How about the twelfth of never," mumbled Andy in a low voice. She suddenly had this slight sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. "I'll let you know."

"Fine then. I'll be at your beck and call," said Sirius with an impish grin. Andy simply rolled her eyes and made a disgusted noise as she continued to make her way to the portrait of the fat lady.

_'Why do I feel like I just made a pack with Satan himself,_' thought Andy.

_'Oh Gods, I just made a deal with Beelzebub,_' groaned Sirius inwardly at the realization of what he had just done hit him.

"This should be very interesting."

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except this story. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.


	18. Another Trick Partnership

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Eighteen: Another Trick Partnership**

The next few days were pretty uneventful for the students of Hogwarts. The sixth year students were busy trying to meet the demands of deadlines that were bearing down on them. Since the night of the detentions, both Lily and Andy had been trying to avoid the Marauders at all costs, particularly James and Sirius.

After about a week since their agreement to team up, Andy still hadn't gotten back to Sirius to start planning on how to get James and Lily together. Having had enough of Andy's procrastination, Sirius decided that she needed a little push to get her in gear. This little push was delivered to her on the Friday before the first match of the season, Slytherin vs. Gryffindor.

"What did you get there?" asked Kelly while she began to fill her plate with food for dinner. As Andy pulled the bright red envelope from the owl, her eyes started to widen in horror. _'He wouldn't.'  
_  
"Who would send you a howler?" asked Lily with raised eyebrows.

"I don't really know. It doesn't say whose it from," stated Andy as she cautiously inspected the envelope. Upon touching it, the howler began to steam a bit and busted open before Andy's hand reached the seal.

"REMEMBER THE DEAL! CHOSE A DAY FOR MERLIN'S SAKE!" roared a low male voice. The force of the howler caused Andy as well as a number of people around her to plug their ears. The entire hall stood quite for a few moments while everyone's eyes turned toward the Gryffindor table.

"What's that about?" breathed Felicia looking directly at a highly stunned Andy.

"Nothing," said Andy in a low voice as she regained her composure and hearing.

"Just something dealing with my sister," she lied. She glanced down at the other end of the table and saw the highly smug look on Sirius's face.

_'All right, Blackie. You want me to choose and humiliate me in the process. Fine then, two can play this game,'_ thought Andy as she glared at her 'partner'.

"Wonder what's that all about," said James as he poured himself some juice.

"Got me," replied Sirius with a shrug as he glanced down at where Andy was sitting. _'That should help her out.'_ he chuckled to himself. When he turned back to his mates, he found Remus giving him a questionable look.

"What?" said Sirius.

"Why do I have the feeling you're not telling us something," said Remus as he cocked an eyebrow.

"Relax, Moony. It's nothing terrible," stated Sirius with a smirk.

"Right," said Remus unconvinced, but decided to drop the subject for now.

"So…rumor has it that you and Andy, had a pretty hot and heavy time during your detention. People say it sounded like two animals going at each other," said Remus with a mischievous glint in his eye as he wiggled his eyebrows.

With that said, James, Peter, and Remus busted out laughing at the comment, even though they heard the story from Sirius the next day after it happened, as well as from Andy. But the look of horror and disgust on Sirius's face was absolutely priceless.

"Shut up," said Sirius darkly.

"Awww…Padfoot, we're just having a bit of fun. I mean it's not everyday our good friend here gets his butt whipped by a girl," laughed James.

"It was a draw," said Sirius quickly. "But at least I didn't enjoy being with one of the 'golden girls'," he added looking directly at James.

"And I did?" inquired James knowing where his friend was going with this.

Sirius raised his eyebrows and gave him a thoughtful look. "Perhaps…"

James simply rolled his eyes at his friend. "Urgh…come on we have practice."

After the grueling practice that James, the new Quidditch captain, had put the team through, Sirius thought it would be the perfect time to corner Andy and begin planning. But Andy had another idea, instead of heading off to the locker room like she normally did; she quickly grabbed her gear and headed back up to her room, and away from Sirius.

When the he saw that she was completely avoiding him, he decided to handle it tomorrow after he took a nice bath. Seeing that one of the Marauders was also a prefect, all of them knew how to get into the luxurious prefect bathroom incase they needed to get away for a while. Sirius arrived in the bathroom just after sunset, while James headed back up to the common room to do some last minute planning.

As he turned on the various taps along the pool size tub, Sirius couldn't help but think about Andy and her stubbornness.

_'What the hell is her problem? It's not like I'm asking for blood or anything,'_ he thought as he floated through the water. _'Sure we have our differences, but she agreed to this plan. What was I thinking when I suggested this? I knew she would end up pulling something like this.'_

"Why is she being so bloody stubborn!" said Sirius to no one in particular with his eyes closed, as he floated toward the edge of the tub. "It's not like I have a disease or anything."

"Oh I beg to differ there, Mr. Black," said a new voice coming directly above Sirius. When he opened his eyes upon hearing the voice, he saw girl standing above him on the edge of the tub.

"Holy sh…" stuttered Sirius when he saw the girl. He was in such shock that he began to thrash around the water hitting the bottom a couple of times. When he finally calmed down he returned to the surface and saw that there was no girl in sight. But was really bugging him wasn't the fact that it was just some girl that was standing there a second ago. But that the girl sounded and looked like the very person he was thinking about.

"What? W-who said that? Is there someone here?" called out Sirius. His voice bouncing off the walls giving a haunting kinda feel to the room. As Sirius got out of the tub quickly and wrapped a towel around him, he began to scan the bathroom for any sign of anyone.

"Who's there? W-Who said that?" he asked again.

"You know for someone who prizes himself to be all wise and intelligent, you really are quite daft," said the voice from behind him. Sirius turned around to find himself looking at a mirror over a sink. But instead of his reflection, he saw a light browned hair Andy looking at him with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Wh-w-wh-ho-w-w-h-ho-," stuttered Sirius upon seeing Andy.

"Articulate aren't we? Relax, Blackie. I'm not who you think I am," said the mirror Andy.

"Okay?" said a skeptical and cautious Sirius. "Who or what are you then?"

"Well," started the look-alike. As she said this, 'Andy' stepped out of the mirror frame and onto the cool tile of the prefect bathroom. "It's a bit complicated. But I guess introductions are necessary. My name is Christine, but everyone calls me Chris. Well, when I say 'everyone' I mean everyone up in the girls dorm room that is."

Sirius remained silent while gawking at Chris. He couldn't believe how she looked exactly like Andy. Even her tone of voice and attitude mirrored his archenemies.

After a few silent moments, Chris decided to break the silence. "Umm…I'm Miranda's mirror incase you hadn't figured that out yet. She said that you were a bit dense and she's obviously right. Although…you don't really look like a pile of dragon dung," said Chris as she looked over Sirius.

"Uh…thanks… I think. So if you're Sparky's mirror then why are you hear?" inquired Sirius, as he quickly found his robe and put it on.

"Miran…excuse me Andy, sent me to look for you. So I went to the boy's dorm room and heard your mates saying that you had gone to the prefect bathroom. Hence why I'm here now talking to you," said Chris smoothly.

"Heard? You mean eavesdrop," stated Sirius with a smirk.

"Oooohhh, eavesdrop is such a harsh word. I prefer, constructive listening in order to get information that one requires," said Chris with a smile.

Sirius couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's definition. "So why were you sent to find me?"

"I have a message for you."

"From Andy?" said Sirius with raised eyebrows.

"No, Professor Dumbledore," spat Chris sarcastically. She sighed and rolled her eyes to the ceiling looking for some form of help. "Yes of course Andy."

"Well what is it?" asked Sirius as he folded his arms.

"She wants you to meet her tomorrow night in the Astronomy tower at eleven o'clock," said Chris.

"Tell her I'll be there," said Sirius with a nod.

"Very well then," replied Chris. She turned on her heals and jumped back into the mirror and disappeared for a second.

"Oh and by the way," started Chris right when Sirius was about to go back to the tub. "Nice back stroke," she giggled with a mischievous look in her eyes before she quickly disappeared once again.

Sirius's jaw nearly dropped while his face turned cherry red.

The next day went by rather quickly for everyone at Hogwarts. The Gryffindor team pummeled Slytherin in a 230-60 match that was won with James's spectacular dive and grab of the snitch.

After the game, everyone from Gryffindor house went back to the common room for a victory celebration, while Sirius went off to spend some time with his new girlfriend walking along the isolated hallways and snogging every now and then. But as eleven o'clock began to roll around, Sirius excused himself from his date and made his way up to the Astronomy tower.

Sirius ran up the many flights of stairs and hallways to get to his late-night meeting on time. As he ran up the remaining spiral staircase that lead to the roof of the tower, he found that Andy had already arrive and was sitting on the ledge reading a muggle book.

"Well I see you got my message," said Andy when she heard Sirius coming up the stairs.

"Yeah, your little friend sure knows how to make an impression," said Sirius carefully. He wasn't quite sure if Chris had told or even worse shown Andy what she had seen.

"Yeah, sorry about her. Chris can be a little…forward at times. A trait I think she inherited from one of her previous owners," said Andy apologetically.

"I'll say," said Sirius quietly, trying not to let Andy see the slight tinge on pink that started to creep up.

A few moments of silence passed between the two enemies that seemed to drag on for an eternity.

"Anyway…uh so how do we do this?" said Andy unsurely. "Getting Lily and James together I mean."

"Well I thought you had an idea," shrugged Sirius. "What with you being the genius and all."

"I don't really have a full idea, Blackie. That's why I thought you wanted to team up, so that we could possible do this together," spat Andy. When she decided to schedule this late night meeting, she made a promise to herself that she wouldn't lose her patience and temper with Sirius. But now that she was here with him, she could feel her self-restraints quickly falling.

"Well excuse me princess, I didn't really know that I should have come with a notebook full of ideas. Unlike some people here I actually had a prior engagement," said Sirius. He was getting quite irritable with the current situation he was in.

"Oh, well excuse me. I didn't know that I had to accommodate for your little liaisons with whatever tart you are currently with this week," snarled Andy.

"If I didn't know better I'd say that I hear a tad bit of jealousy in your voice, Sparky."

"In your dreams, Black," scoffed Andy.

"Hey how did you know I was with a girl anyhow? I could have been with James or Remus for all you know," inquired Sirius.

"Uh I highly doubt that James, Remus, or even Peter for that matter would wear red lipstick," said Andy while pointing to the red smudges on Sirius's shirt and neck. He quickly raised his hand to his neck and wiped away the red smear marks.

"Just out of curiosity," started Andy as she tried to retain from laughing, "how did you get away from the little flavor of the week. I assume you didn't tell her that you were come up here to meet another girl."

"No, I told her I had to help Hagrid with a sick Hippogriff," said Sirius smoothly. "Trust me, no one will find out from me that I'm meeting with you to work on this ridiculous task."

"Uh, may I remind you as to who thought up with little idea of us working to together?"

Sirius winced slightly when he heard Andy's words. _'I knew that was going to come back and bite me in the arse someday. Didn't know it would be so soon.'  
_  
"Fine, all right. I'm sorry," stuttered Sirius. "So what idea's did you have?" He added quickly not wanting to hear the little sprite in front of him gloating.

"Nothing really. Just that I need to figure out a way to get them in a spot where they have to be together," shrugged Andy. She began to walk toward the edge of the tower again and took a seat along the edge.

"_'I'_? Don't you mean _'we'_?" inquired Sirius with a raised eyebrow.

"Right. _'We'_ need to figure out how to get them together."

The two allies fell into another period of silence, as each of them began to think of ideas as to how they could possible get their friends together. Or better yet, how they could actually have them stand next to each other without them both feeling slightly sick or wanting to run in the opposite direction from the other.

"We could just lock them in a room," said Sirius taking a seat on the floor below Andy.

Andy groaned at the idea, while looking up to the heavens for some strength to not hit him in the head. "Look, Sirius we are trying to get our friends together. We don't want them to kill each other before hand."

"Hey at least I came up with an idea!" spat Sirius.

"And what do you want? A medal?"

"No. I'd settle for a 'that's a nice idea, Sirius'."

"Yeah, that'll be a cold day in hell," scoffed Andy quietly.

"Oh great! Here we go. Ms. 'I'm so high and mighty I don't need anyone's help'." spat Sirius while brushing some of his hair out of his eyes.

"Oh excuse me!" yelled the outraged witch. She hopped off the ledge so quickly that she almost stepped on Sirius's hand, before she stood in front of his sitting figure. "I'm the stuck up one here? I don't think so!"

"Oh and I'm the one here who's stuck up?" roared Sirius. He stood up quickly and found himself face to face with Andy. Even though he was a good few inches taller than her, the two locked eyes that both expressed the amount of loath ness each felt for the other.

"This was a bad idea," sighed Andy as she rubbed her eyes. She could already start to feel the beginnings of a migraine slowly setting in. "I don't even know why I even let you talk me into this."

With that Andy turned on her heals and began to leave the Astronomy tower, desperately trying to get away from Sirius. She was a few steps away from the door before Sirius's words stopped her.

"Oh, yeah that's right…just run away like the scared little princess that you are!"

Hearing those words forced Andy to turn back around and confront the boy antagonizing her.

"I'm not scared of anything…especially you," said Andy darkly.

"Right. Then why are you looking at me like that," said Sirius quietly. He began to walk toward Andy slowly. Something about the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes startled Andy, but she was not willing to show him her feelings.

"Like what?" said Andy. She could slowly feel a slight tinge of pink rise up in her face as the wind began to pick up a bit.

"All flustered and breathing heavily," replied Sirius. He was now a few inches away and barring down on her. "What, you sweet on me or something?" he asked with a smirk.

"Actually, I'm trying to keep from gagging," choked Andy as she got a whiff of Sirius's cologne. "What did you do take a bath in cologne?"

Sirius sighed in defeat seeing that his little tactic failed. "You know maybe you were right for once. This was a bad idea."

"Wow and me with out my camera," said Andy.

Sirius glared at the smug look Andy had on her face. "Yeah laugh it up," he said in a hollow tone.

"I'm out of here. I got to go do that stupid essay for McGonagall's class," he said while he made his way to the door.

"McGonagall?" said Andy suddenly. Upon hearing Sirius say the name of their professor, an unexpected idea popped in her head.

"Yeah, scary old bat that can turn into a cat," said Sirius. When he looked back at Andy, he saw that she was deep in thought. Then out of nowhere, she began to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"I think I just came up with and idea to get Lily and James together…without them killing each other."

When Monday morning arrived, everyone was still talking about the events that happened over the weekend as they entered their advance Transfiguration class. Unlike the rest of the years who's classes are scheduled according to house, the sixth and seventh year students have their classes arranged according to their test scores, grades, and teacher recommendations.

As Lily, Kelly, and Felicia entered the classroom they found Andy already sitting in her normal seat near the front of the classroom.

"You're here awfully early," said Lily with a raised eyebrow as she took a seat next to Andy.

"Yeah. I forgot to finish up my essay, so I came in here to do it instead of the library," lied Andy.

"I thought you finished it last night?" inquired Felicia as she and Kelly took a seat behind them.

"Yeah well I didn't," spat Andy. Felicia and the rest of the girls raised their eyebrows at their friend, totally surprised at to her outburst.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I'm just tired and mad at myself," said Andy apologetically.

"It's okay," said Felicia.

"Andy you sure you are okay," asked Lily.

"Yeah. Never better," replied Andy. Just at that moment the final bell rang and last few students quickly came into the class including Karen as she took a seat across from Lily.

"Wonder what were doing today," said Kelly.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Professor McGonagall walked through the door. She asked the class to pass up their essays to the front.

"Do I have everyone's essay?" asked the professor. Seeing that everyone had nodded in response, McGonagall placed the essays in her drawer and began class.

"Good. Today we will be teaming up to work on your year long projects." At the mention of projects, the entire class groaned in response except for one person sitting near the front, sitting next to a light browned hair girl.

"Yes, yes. Now like I had stated the first day of class, you will be given two projects, in which each should be done before the end of the semester. In regards to the first project, you and your partner will be assigned a subject to research and present to the class. The second project will be a subject of your choice provided that you clear it with me first," said McGonagall as she narrowed her eyes toward the direction of where James and Sirius were sitting.

"Now unlike past projects that you have worked on, with this one you will be assigned a partner. This is to help you prepare for the working world, since most of you will be in jobs that require you to work with a number of people. Some of which you may or may not like. In order for this to be fair, this board," said the strict Professor, as she pulled the sheet off the black board, "with all of your names on it, will magically be connected to a random person in this class. Now are there any questions? Then let us begin."

With that said, Professor McGonagall tapped her wand on the board and watched as everyone's name began to move across the board trying to find a match.

Unknown to anyone except for Sirius, Andy had hidden her wand up her sleeve and began to perform the spell that the two of them had come up with the night they were in the Astronomy tower.

_'Although they've been at odds for quite a long time,  
Make Lily and James give a dime.  
Force them to be kind,  
By magical bind.'_ muttered Andy quietly.

A very pale blue light shot from Andy's wand and pulled the name Evans, Lily, and Potter, James to be placed together.

"What did you say?" said Lily hearing Andy mumbling something.

"Nothing. Just think to myself," said Andy quickly. After a few more moments, the names began to settle down and finally stopped all together.

McGonagall began to call off the pairs of students that would be working together for the rest of the year. A few of groans and giggles escaped from a few students' mouths. As the last few students were called, everyone received a few surprises to the pairings.

"Mr. Jackson," said McGonagall, looking at the blond haired Ravenclaw. "You will be working with Mr. Edwards." Jon Jackson glanced over at his fellow Ravenclaw housemate.

"Ms. Rocker," shouted McGonagall. Kelly slightly jumped out of her seat upon hearing her name. "You will be working with Mr. Carter."

Kelly turned around to look at the dark haired Austin Carter from Hufflepuff. He gave her a weak smile as he pushed his thin glasses up on his nose.

"Mr. Pettigrew," bellowed the professor. Peter gave out a small squeak causing James and Sirius to contain their laughter at their friend's outburst.

"You will be working with Ms. Figg."

Peter's face began to turn bright red, while Felicia's face turned ashy. _('Oh, man,'_ thought Felicia.) Andy saw the look on her face and had the distinct feeling that her friend was hoping for someone else. _'Probably Lily.'_

"Ms. Evans," said McGonagall as she looked at the board. "You will be working with Mr. Potter."

Sirius tried his best to fight the urge to laugh at the look of horror on James's face. While Andy watch Lily's reaction turn from horror to absolute loathsome and disgust. Lily looked over at Andy daring her to even think about making some comment of joke about her pairing. But instead Andy gave her a timid and apologetic smile. A few of the students gasped in shock of the pairing, while others began to make fun of the look on their faces.

_'You've got to be kidding me,'_ thought James.

_'I don't believe this,'_ groaned Lily inwardly.

Professor McGonagall continued on with calling off names, unaware of the reactions the class was giving off.

"Ms. Crane, you will be teamed up with Mr. Lupin."

Karen glanced behind her at Remus and gave him a shy smile. Remus returned her smile as a slight tinge of pink began to form on in his slightly pale cheeks.

"Ms. Starmenter," called Professor McGonagall. Hearing her name, Andy pulled away from looking at the little display that was going on between Karen and Remus. As she turned back toward the front of the room, she caught a glimpse of Severus Snape sitting off in a corner writing on a piece of parchment. She was suddenly hit with the realization that Severus hadn't been given a partner yet.

_'Oh please don't let it be Snivellus! Please not Snivellus,'_ prayed Andy to herself as she closed her eyes and braced herself for what McGonagall had to say.

"Ms. Starmenter, you will be teamed up with…Mr. Black," said McGonagall. Most of the class gasped in shock upon hearing the two names called out.

Andy let out a sigh of relief still keeping her eyes closed, hearing that it wasn't Snape.

_'Yes it isn't Snivellus. Wait a minute…did she say…BLACK!'_

"Did she just say Black?" said Andy aloud.

"Did she just say my name," said Sirius. Sure enough, both Gryffindors looked up at the black board and saw that their names were next to each other.

Andy mouth nearly dropped to the floor while Sirius literally fell out of his chair that he was lend back in.

"Somebody shoot me now," winced Andy. She groaned in disgust when she heard Sirius fall to the floor and banged her head on her desk. "OW!"

Seeing that Sirius was fine and back in his seat, McGonagall called off the last pairing.

"Finally Mr. Snape, you will be working with Ms. Bloom."

Severus looked across the room at the short Hufflepuff that looked about ready to either cry or become sick.

"I will ask that you all move to your respected partners at this time quickly please," order McGonagall.

A few of the students began to get up from their seats and moved to where their partners were sitting. Andy looked over at James and Sirius's table and saw that James was beginning to pack up his things and make his way over to the table.

"Sorry about the pairing, Lily," said Andy trying to sound sincere.

"Yeah me too. Good luck with, Blackie," said Lily gloomily.

"Thanks I'll need it. Same with Jay," replied Andy. She thought it best not to add that it probably wouldn't be that bad. As she began to make her way toward the back of the classroom, Andy felt the slight pain of guilt, but was quickly replaced by the absolute disgust for her partner.

James silently made his way over to the where Lily was sitting and took Andy's former seat. He pulled out his Transfiguration book and notebook, while they waited for McGonagall to come around and give them their assigned subject. After a few moments of silence, James turned in his seat toward Lily and opened his mouth to say something to her.

"Say one word and I'll hex you into the middle of next week," said Lily sternly. James quickly shut his mouth and put his head down in frustration.

"See, they're already talking," said Sirius, as he and Andy watched their friends closely.

"Oh yeah, that really sounds like a friendly conversation," said Andy sarcastically. "Mmmhhph, yeah it's only a matter of time before they are all over each other."

"Now the only thing I have to worry about is passing this class without killing my partner," she added.

"Well, look at it this way," said Sirius trying to make the most of a bad situation. "At least we have an excuse to be seen together."

"Yay, I'm so relieved," groaned Andy before she put her head down.

When Professor McGonagall came to Lily and James's table, Lily desperately tried to convince the professor to allow her to switch partners, but to no avail.

"So uh…looks like we're partners," said James cautiously.

"Looks like," spat Lily. She began to flip through her notebook to find an empty page almost violently.

"So ummm…what exactly do you want to work on," asked James trying to be nice. Lily abruptly stopped her search and glared at James.

"WHAT?" inquired James not seeing what he did wrong.

"Look just because we're working together doesn't mean that we can be all 'buddy buddy'," said Lily in a low harsh voice for James to only hear. So let's just set a few ground rules first."

"Rules?" said James with a raised eyebrow. _'Oh great it's the younger version of McGonagall.'  
_  
"Rule number one: No pranking, or rude comments about me or my friends. Rule number two: no horse playing around. I've worked very hard to get where I am and I don't need you to ruin it for me. Rule number three: No putting things off to the last second. That means that when we plan on meeting up to work, you actually show up on time and you don't leave early to go off and play pranks with your friends. Finally, I don't really like you and I know you don't like me, so why hopefully when this is all over with it will stay that way. I have enough friends already and I don't need friends that will give me a headache. Agreed?"

"Yeah. Fine. Whatever you want Evans," snide James. He turned back to his notebook and began to write down something to look up for his project. _'This is going to be interesting.'  
_  
"This is going to be harder that I thought," said Andy and Sirius at the same time. Both of them had watched and heard the whole conversation James and Lily had. Each of them turned to the other and gave each other expressions that said, 'Maybe we're in over our heads'. At that moment the bell rang, and the students began to pack up their things. Lily was one of the first people out of the classroom, with Karen and Kelly close behind, trying to catch up with her. Felicia passed Andy and Sirius's table, but neither saw the slightly angry look on her face.

"So when do you want to meet up to work on the projects," said Sirius as he swung his bag over his shoulder.

"Tomorrow night? Same time and place?" inquired Andy as she finished putting her books away.

"Sure…oh wait I can't. Got a date," said Sirius as he realized what he had planed.

"Oh geez…and so it starts," sighed Andy to herself, even though Sirius heard what she had said. "Look just get in touch with me when your social life isn't a bother to our grades or our friend's relationship."

With that Andy quickly left the classroom and tried to catch up with her friends. Sirius came out of the classroom to find James and Remus waiting for him.

"So how's working with Andy," inquired Remus not sure of what his friend's response would be.

"Oh stimulating as always," chuckled Sirius.

"Yeah same with Lily," added James. At that moment, Peter came out of the classroom and the four friends made their way to their next class.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** It's all J.K. Rowling. I own nothing except this story and the characters I made up.


	19. Livin' On a Prayer

****

Days in Avalon

Chapter Nineteen: Livin' On a Prayer

"Lily it's not that bad," said Karen at lunch. Lily was hunched over in her chair with her head in her hands still in shock that she had to work with James Potter of all people.

"Oh, please Kare," spat Lily as she looked directly across the table at Karen. "It's as bad as it can get."

"Actually it could be worst," said Andy off handedly.

Lily turned to her right and glared at her best friend. She really didn't want to hear Andy's usual rants about how James is really a 'nice guy', or how all things are really not that bad. In her opinion, things were as bad as they could get. "How could it possibly be worse, Andy?"

Seeing the look on Lily's face and in her eyes caused Andy to forget what she was going to say. In all the years that she has known Lily, she had never seen her that upset before.

"You could have been paired up with someone like Snivellus," said Felicia, coming to Andy's aid.

"She's right you know," said Andy once she regained her voice.

Lily simply rolled her eyes and put her head down again. Kelly, Felicia, Andy, and Karen looked on their friend helplessly. They wanted to say something, but nothing really came to mind.

"I still can't believe I'm stuck with Potter of all people," groaned Lily after a few moments of silence.

"Lily, why not give it a chance," said Kelly cautiously. Lily looked up and raised eyebrow to her friend giving her the 'you've got to be kidding me' look.

"Well, I mean he is really good at Transfiguration," added Kelly hoping that it would smooth things over.

"So am I!" shouted Lily causing a few people to look over at her.

"Well, see there you go…a guaranteed A," said Andy with a smile as she grabbed an apple. Lily turned back toward Andy and gave her a warning look that told her best friend, 'don't mess with me right now'.

"Anyway…" said Kelly after a few moments looking to change the subject. "Uh, so Felicia, what have you been up to?"

"Nothing really, just…hanging around," replied Felicia with an impish grin.

"Hey do you want to have a girls night tomorrow," said Karen suddenly hoping to change the mood a bit. "We haven't had one since we got back."

"Sorry I can't. I have a date," said Felicia with a smile.

"Didn't you have one the other night?" inquired Lily.

"Yeah, but he had to cut out early. Something about having to help Hagrid with some sort of creature…uh Hippogriff I think," said Felicia.

At that moment of the conversation, Andy began to take a drink from her glass. But when she heard the end of Felicia's sentence, she began to choke on her juice.

"Andy are you okay?" said a very concerned Karen and Lily.

"Yeah," coughed Andy. "Yeah I'm fine. Just uh, went down the wrong pipe," she added.

After showing her concerned friends that she was indeed all right. Andy slowing looked down the table at where the Marauders were sitting and looked from Sirius to Felicia, then back to Sirius again.

__

'I can't believe it!'

"So you're really smitten with this bloke aren't you?" inquired Karen.

"Yeah…yeah I guess I am," said Felicia blushing.

"Well," said Andy suddenly staring directly at Felicia, "let's just hope this guy doesn't give you any grief. I mean we wouldn't want your rep to have a _serious black_ mark because of _him_, right Felicia?"

"Yeah…I guess," said Felicia looking questionable at Andy. She couldn't really understand what Andy was getting at and why she was looking so angry at her. The other girls saw this too and were wondering the same thing.

"Andy are you sure you're okay?" asked Lily.

"Oh, yeah. Never better," said Andy with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"I'm sorry gals, but I have to go get started on researching some things for the project. Need to get some books and stuff since my partner's going to be _sooo _busy with his _date _this week," stated Andy as she got up from the table and looked directly at Felicia. "Catch you all later," she added looking at everyone else. With that she swung her bag onto her shoulder and stormed out of the hall.

__

'Oh Merlin she knows!' thought Felicia.

"Uh, you know I think I'll go join her. I need to do some research too," said Felicia quickly as she grabbed her things and head off. "Hey Andy wait up!"

"Do you think there's something going on with those two?" said Kelly as she watched Felicia run out of the Great Hall.

"In their words…oh yeah," said Lily watching the same thing.

"So Kelly, how's Braden?" asked Karen looking to change the subject.

"Fine I guess. I haven't heard from him in awhile," said Kelly miserably.

"Oh," replied Karen thinking this wasn't a good subject to bring up.

"He's probably busy at the ministry," said Lily.

"Yeah, you're probably right," answered Kelly with a halfhearted smile.

"Hello ladies," said a voice coming behind Lily and Karen. They turned around to find Remus Lupin standing behind them.

"Oh hi Remus," said Lily with a warm smile. She could see out of the corner of her eye that Karen was beginning to turn pale shade of pink.

"So…how's are you doing," said Remus awkwardly.

"We're fine," said Kelly offhandedly.

"That's good," said Remus in a slightly high voice. He was beginning to rock back and forth on the balls of his feet and was moving his hands quite a lot. Lily also noticed that he was looking a little ill.

"Remus are you okay? You look a little paler than normal," said Lily.

"Yeah I'm fine," he replied as he began to run his hand through his sandy colored hair. "I just might be getting a relapse of a cold, is all."

"Remus you should really take better care of yourself," stated Lily.

"Yes, you should eat some soup or see the nurse. I wouldn't want a great partner like you to be sick," said Karen quickly. When she realized what she just uttered, she immediately turned a darker shad of red.

Remus couldn't help but blush at the compliment from Karen and looked down at his feet for a second. "I'm sure it'll pass. But thank you for your concern," he said looking directly at Karen. "All of you," he added quickly.

Lily and Kelly glanced at each other and couldn't repress the smile that was on their faces at the obvious display of affection between the two people before them.

"Uh…actually," said Remus after a few moments of awkward silence. "Karen, that's kinda the reason I came over. Us being partners and all."

"Oh?" replied Karen a little afraid of what he had to say.

"Yes, I was wondering if you wanted to meet up in the library after our last class so could get a head start on the project, and…I don't know…get to know a little bit about one another?" said Remus with a half smile.

"Yes!" squeaked Karen loudly. "I-I mean," she said clearing her throat, "that would be nice."

"Great! So I'll see you at four then?" said Remus with a bright smile on his face.

"Four o'clock sounds good."

"Great. So… I guess I'll see you at four then," stuttered Remus as he began to back away slowly. "Oh uh, bye Lily, Kelly."

"See you later Remus," said Lily.

"Well someone is definitely smitten," remarked Kelly as she looked over at Karen. She was wearing the biggest smile on her face and was blushing profusely.

"What?" she asked once she realized she was being addressed.

"You know what," said Kelly with a wicked grin.

"Whatever," said Karen rolling her eyes a bit. "I'll talk to you guys later. I need to get to class," she stated getting up from the table.

"Have fun with Remus," said Lily as Karen passed behind her. Karen opened her mouth in surprise at Lily's comment but laughed it off and made her way out of the Great Hall.

"Speaking of which," stated Kelly as she got up, "I need to go up to the common room to get my book for my next class. See you later Lil."

"Fine. Go and leave me," said Lily jokingly.

With all of her friend gone now, Lily decided to pull out one of her books and read a little bit of it before she had to head off to class. After a few moments of reading, Lily almost completely forgot about her previous troubles. That was until she was suddenly interrupted.

"Geez, do you always have your nose in a book?" inquired James. Lily looked up to find him in front of her across the table.

Lily sighed with disgust as she put her book down. "What do you want?"

"A lot of things, but I'd settle for a few minutes of your time," replied James with a smile as he sat down on the bench.

"I'm busy," spat Lily as she picked up her book again to read.

"It'd only take a moment. I wanted to see when you wanted to meet up to work on the project."

"Fine," said Lily as she closed her book and gave James her attention. "When do you want to start working?"

"Name a time," replied James with a smirk.

"How about tomorrow after classes," suggested Lily.

"Can't. Have a practice tomorrow. How about Wednesday?"

"I have a prefect meeting and I have my duties," stated Lily.

"Okay…" said James deep in thought. "How about today after classes? We'll meet up in the library."

"Sure. Fine. Whatever," said Lily.

"So I guess I'll see you later then?" stated James as he got up from the table.

"I guess so," said Lily as she looked at her watch. Seeing that it was almost time for classes to begin again, she quickly got up from the table and headed off to her next class and away from James.

Lily went to the library right after her last class of the day. When she got there, there was no sign of James anywhere. She decided to go and look up some books that could be useful for her topic on Transfiguration during the Medieval Ages. Lily found a number of books that held detailed accounts of wizard battles and breakthroughs during that particular time period and found an empty table. She saw Karen and Remus on the other side of the library busy working away and whispering to each other as they copied notes.

It was almost ten minutes later that James finally arrived to the library and spotted Lily busy working away.

"You're late," she said not even looking up from her book.

"Sorry. I had to deal with a pest problem," replied James with an evil smirk. He took the empty seat next to Lily. She finally looked and raised an eyebrow wondering what he meant by that, but had an inkling as to what he was talking about.

"Lovely," she said darkly. "So where do you want to start?"

"I don't know? What's our topic again?" said James in a low voice ,with a clueless expression on his face.

Lily stared wide-eyed at him. Her mouth dropped in utter shock and disbelief. "I can't believe you! Of the most idiotic things to say…I can't believe that you can't remember what our project is when it counts for half our grade and was assigned today!"

"Whoa…hey Evans calm down," chuckled James quietly. "I'm just messing with you. Of course I remember. I was only kidding." He saw her face turn from shock to loathsome in a matter of a second. She huffed at him and went back to reading her book upset with for allowing herself to fall into James's little trick.

"Geez, talk about uptight," said James under his breath. Unfortunately for him, Lily heard what he said.

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing. Never mind," said James quickly. He didn't want to get into another row with her. "So…what have got here?" he said after a few moments. He began to go through the pile of books that Lily had pulled off the selves.

" _'Wizards and Their Useful Transfigure Spells_' , '_The Complete Historic Account of Useful Transfigure Spells', 'Ancient and Modern Transfiguration: First Century to Present'_? I thought we were just dealing with Medieval Ages not the entire history," said James. He looked on Lily as if she had lost her mind or was hit with some sort of mind-altering curse.

"We are. But it might be interesting to find out where they dated back to," said Lily in a matter of fact tone.

"How long do you expect this report to be? Until we graduate?" whispered James as he looked began to flip through the almost nine hundred page '_Wizards and Their Useful Transfigure Spells_'.

"Oh yeah sure. Go ahead and make jokes. I can't help it that you can't take pride in your work," hissed Lily. She could feel her anger begin to rise up in her face and voice.

"Hey I do care about my grades, but I at least know how to have fun," said James as his voice began to rise.

"I hardly find tormenting others as a means of enjoyment," spat Lily.

"Why? You seem to be really good at it," said James looking her directly in the eyes.

"You unbelievable piece of…" hissed Lily loudly.

_**BANG!**_ The sound of a book falling to the floor caused everyone in the library to jump and Lily to lose her train of thought. Everyone, looked around to see who or what caused the noise, but from where Lily and James sat, they couldn't see where the noise came from. Within moments, Madam Pierce scurried over between a row of bookshelves, apparently going to see if everything was all right. A couple of moments later, she was seen again coming from the bookshelves mumbling to herself.

"So what were you saying?" said James with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing. It really wasn't that important," said Lily. She turned back to her book and began coping notes once again.

"Right," hissed James not believing her for a second. He saw that Lily was already deeply engrossed in the book she had. He grabbed a copy of _'Famous Medieval Warlocks and Wizards' _that she had pulled off the shelves and began to skim through it, taking a few notes here and there.

Unknown to either of them, a pair of blue eyes were staring right at them, coming from the row of books that Madame Pierce came from. Andy had been listening intently to Lily and James's conversation the entire time. When she heard Lily about to tell off James, she quickly picked up the nearest heavy book and slammed it to the floor in hopes to stop her friend from saying something she might regret. After dealing with Madame Pierce, she went back to her stakeout, only to find them in complete silence.

_'Geez, what do you have to do to get them to even talk humanly to each other?_' she asked herself. She quickly scanned the room and found other pairs from her class busy working and getting along with one another. Especially Karen and Remus, who seemed to have hit it off pretty well. Both of them had a slight case of the giggles as they poured over their books and carried on a conversation. The complete opposite of what was happening between James and Lily. The atmosphere around them was so cold, you could keep ice cream frozen.

"This plan is livin' on a prayer. Blackie and I must be out of our gourd," she said to herself. The moment she said Sirius's name she wish she didn't. She was still a little shocked at what had happened earlier that day, but especially at what her partner in crime had told her.

__

(Earlier that day…)

"Hey Andy! Wait up!" shouted Felicia as she ran out of the Great Hall in to the Entrance Hall.

"Sorry Felicia. I don't have time to talk," said Andy over her shoulder.

"Miranda please. Can we talk about this?" said Felicia. She was finally able to catch up to Andy stop her from heading up the stairs.

"What's there to talk about?" inquired Andy as she sidestepped Felicia and began to climb the stairs.

"Andy come on!" said Felicia getting annoyed with the friend.

Andy stopped got up to about the fourth step before she turned around to look directly at Felicia. "What do you want me to say?"

"Well…" stuttered Felicia. She was completely taken off guard by Andy's actions. She really didn't expect her to come to a sudden halt and confront her.

"Exactly. There is nothing to say. So why don't you go run along and spend some time with that idiotic prat of a boyfriend you have," spat Andy. Felicia opened her mouth to say something, but was at a total loss for words. As Andy stared down Felicia, she saw Sirius coming out of the Great Hall and heading toward them.

"Oh, speak of the devil," she said icily. "Don't let me get in the way of your happiness." With that she ran up the stairs eager to get away from both of them.

"What's her problem?" asked Sirius once he met up with Felicia.

"She knows about us," replied Felicia looking directly at him. She saw Sirius's face fall a bit before he wrapped her in his arms.

"How she figured it out I don't know," she continued while she grabbed a hold of Sirius.

"Hey it'll be okay," he said soothingly.

"Yeah, right," chuckled Felicia in disbelief. She pulled away from Sirius and he could see that she was on the verge of tears.

"Look. I'll go talk with her," he said out of nowhere. Felicia raised her eyebrows and looked at him as if he had grown an extra head. "I mean I have to start learning how to deal with her, right?" he added.

Felicia looked almost positively grateful, but quickly felt sorry for him once she remembered that Andy was his partner. "I'm sorry you got assigned to be her partner."

"Ah, it's okay. Besides it builds character," chuckled Sirius. He saw Felicia's fall a bit, and knew that this wasn't what she had planned. She wanted to tell her friends about him slowly and hoped that they would accept him, especially Andy and Lily.

"I'll try to get along with her," he said putting his hand on her shoulder. She gave him a skeptical look and chuckled a bit. "Really. I will," he added looking her directly in the eyes.

"You're so good to me," she said with a smile. Felicia quickly gave him a peck on the cheek before he headed off after Andy.

"Hey Sparky! Wait up!" called Sirius after searching the hallways for her.

"Drop dead, loser," muttered Andy to herself as she continued to walk down the hallway.

"Sparky would you just stop!" said Sirius once he caught up to her.

"Not for you," spat Andy not looking at him. Seeing that it was almost a lost cause to get her to stop on her own, Sirius grabbed a hold of her arm and pulled her into a nearby empty classroom.

"Hey what do you think your doing! Get off me!" yelled Andy as she tried to break free of his grip. He didn't let go of her until they were in the classroom.

"Ah finally. So happy you can talk," said Sirius with a grin.

"What in the world do you think…" started Andy.

"Look just shut up!" roared Sirius suddenly taking Andy off guard.

"Excuse me?" said Andy in disbelief.

"Look, I don't want to hear you. Right now it's my turn to talk and your turn to listen!" barked Sirius as he literally back Andy into a corner. In all the years Andy had known Sirius, he had been known to have shouting matches, but he had never backed her up into a corner. He appearance was somewhat scary, but for the first time in years, he had her full attention.

"Yes, okay. Felicia and I are dating. But that doesn't give you the right to treat her like she did something wrong. It's her choice and her life. But for some reason, she wants me to get along with all of your lot, but especially you and Evans. Now you may not believe it, but I actually care for her. A lot actually. So I'm willing to try to get along with you," he said looking her directly in the eyes. Andy saw his face suddenly change from one of harsh to one of mischief.

"After all we do have to work together, don't we?" he added with a sly grin. Andy mindlessly nodded in agreement before she snapped out of it and finally register what Sirius had actually said.

"So you willing to deal with each other a little more?" inquired Sirius as he finally backed away from Andy.

"If I have to," replied Andy trying to forget the fact that she allowed Sirius to get the upper hand on her.

"Fine," he answered. He went over and opened the door for Andy and gestured her out. "I'm glad that we had this nice little chat. You know I could get use to those kinda of talks," he chuckled.

Andy looked upon him in disgust and told him to sod off before she headed off for her next class.

Andy quickly shook her head to rid herself of her thoughts. She couldn't comprehend the idea of one of her best friends dating her worst enemy. Andy then mentally kicked herself when she realized she did the same thing to Lily a few years prior. _('God I hate getting a taste of my own medicine'_. she thought to herself.) But more over, she couldn't believe that Sirius had actually confessed that he had deep feelings for Felicia.

Seeing that nothing was really going to happen between Lily and James, Andy decided to get a head start on her project as well as the rest of the homework. She maintained a watchful eye of her two friends, hoping that they would possibly have a civil conversation, but she was also ready to step in and break up another fight if necessary.

As time dwindled down, James and Lily continued to work in silence Andy became fed up with them and was getting very hungry since she only ate an apple for lunch. She then decided to leave the library, carrying seven large volumes on Ancient Greek transfiguration for her project, up to the common room before she went to dinner.

Most of the other students followed Andy's idea. Neither Lily nor James noticed the library empting out as students headed down for dinner, until the room was almost completely empty.

"Where'd everyone go?" asked James as he looked up for the first time in a while, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Dinner I suppose," said Lily not looking up from her book. She could see that her watch read that it was a little after six in the evening.

"Guess we should head down, huh?" said James. He began to pack up some of his things and could feel his stomach groan with hunger.

"You can go ahead. I'll be down later," said Lily lightly as she scribbled a few more notes on her parchment.

James couldn't believe what he was hearing. He took hold of Lily's book and closed it quickly before she could say anything.

"W-what are you doing?" inquired an irate Lily.

"Haven't you heard of all work and no play makes Lily a dull person?" said James with a grin.

"I said I'd be down in a little bit. Now I need to finish this," said Lily as she went to open her book again.

"Why? It's not like the world is going to end if you don't finish it now. We have all semester you know," stated James. Lily looked up to find James looking at her with a wide goofy grin on his face, as if he were trying to be cute. Unfortunately for James, Lily found him annoying right now, rather than cute.

"Fine!" huffed Lily. She quickly packed up her thinks and stormed out of the library, heading up to the common room. James was slightly taken off guard by Lily's action, but he quickly grabbed his things and headed off after. Once he caught up to her, he could see that she was highly irritated.

"Hey Evans, what is your problem?" he asked.

"My problem is you okay?" spat Lily before she continued on, leaving a bewildered James in the middle of the hall.

Meanwhile, as Andy made her way to the common room, she unfortunately tripped on a trick wire causing her to fall face forward on the ground. The moment she fell, the books in her arms spilled onto the floor along with the books in her bag as the material ripped.

"What the heck?" she groaned as she began to get up form the floor. She looked around and found Peeves cackling above her with tear running down his face.

"Lousy poltergeist," muttered Andy as she pulled out her wand. Thinking that she was going to attack him, Peeves quickly blew a raspberry at her and flew down the hallway into the next corridor. Andy shook her head in disbelief and muttered the repair charm on her bag. As she began to refill her bag, she heard two people laughing and giggling as they came down the hallway up ahead. When she looked up, she found Sirius and Felicia walking hand in hand as they headed toward Gryffindor tower.

"Oh great. The new Hogwarts super couple. Just my luck," she muttered sarcastically to herself as she piled her books up. After she got all her things together, she picked up herself and her books, and headed for the common room again. As she neared the portrait of the fat lady, she could feel the books in her hands begin to slip.

"Gillyweed!" said Andy quickly to the fat lady.

As the portrait swung open, Andy ran in as the books began to slip more. She huffed over to the nearest table and slammed the books down. When she began to regain her normal breathing pattern, she noticed two other people in the room. It was Felicia and Sirius. It seemed that she had walked in on them in the middle of a private moment.

"Oh, don't mind me. I'll just be heading up stairs," said Andy sweetly. "Losing my lunch," she said under her breath. She turned back toward her books and began to re-pile them again. Felicia looked at Sirius and told him she would see him later before she headed off to her room.

"What have you got there, Sparky?" said Sirius cheerfully.

"Oh, nothing. Just a couple of books for this little project for a class, since my partner is to busy getting his groove on," said Andy as she began to pick up her books again. "Oh yeah, and by the way your little plan doesn't have a prayer," she added before she headed off toward the staircase.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you talking about?" inquired Sirius as he grabbed a hold of Andy's books and put them down again.

"Lily and James. There is no way in heaven, hell, or earth that those two are going to even talk civil to one another."

"How do you know that?" said Sirius a little confused.

"Well while you were off sucking face with one of my best friends. I was keeping tabs on your little idea," said Andy in a matter of fact tone.

"Well?" said Sirius after a few moments silence.

"Let's just say it was like watching a brick wall. Actually, no watching a brick wall was more exciting than seeing those two," said Andy.

"Great," replied Sirius looking up at the ceiling.

"I don't even know why I even agreed to this stupid idea," said Andy rubbing her eyes.

"Hey you know Rome wasn't build in a day. These things take time," stated Sirius.

"Yeah, well there were a lot more people building Rome," said Andy coldly.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Oh I think you know what it means," chuckled Andy looking directly at Sirius.

"Hey I'm working here too," roared Sirius confronting Andy.

"Yeah working on Felicia," spat Andy.

"Look Sparky why don't you just…" started Sirius before stopping abruptly. He lifted his head as if hearing or smelling something off in the distance. He looked quickly toward the porthole and saw it begin to open up. He swiftly pulled Andy toward the staircase that led up to the boy's dorm.

"Hey what do you…"

"Shh! Shut up!" hissed Sirius as he pointed to the common room. Andy could hear two people come in, and chanced a quick glance as to whom they were. She saw Lily walk into the common room with James close behind.

"Whoa wait…" started James. "What do you mean I'm your problem?"

"Oh great another fight," whispered Andy.

"Yeah, but at least they can't see us," replied Sirius.

"True, but what happens if James decides to head up to his room?" inquired Andy as she looked over her should at Sirius standing directly behind her.

"Hmmm…good point," said Sirius thoughtfully. "Be back in a sec."

"W-What? Blackie!" hissed Andy as she watched Sirius quietly and quickly run up the stairs to his room.

"Exactly what I said. You are the most self-absorbed, cruel, inconsiderate person I've ever met," stated Lily. "You have all this popularity and power which you use to harm others who are weaker then you for your own pure enjoyment. I'm sorry but I can't work with someone who is nothing but a big bully," she said before she began to head up to her room.

"I'm a bully?" said a flabbergasted James. "What about you little miss 'I'm-so-good-pure-and-perfect-I-don't-need-to-listen-to-others'? Come on Evans! I see the way you act around your friends. You may thing that you are being nice and honest, but what you are really doing is putting them down. The only reason why you have the friends that you have is because they can handle your berating," roared James.

Lily had never been so upset and hurt in her life. Not really knowing how to respond to James's attack, she did the first thing that popped in her mind. She took her foot and stomped on James's left foot with all her might. James began to hop up and down on his good foot while rubbing the other. As he did this, he lost his balance and fell to the floor at Lily's feet.

"I take it back. My problem isn't with you. It's with your mouth," said Lily icily before she ran up the stairs.

After a few moments, the pain in James's foot began to subside and he got back up on his feet.

"Man, talk about mental. This is going to be a long year," muttered James as he climbed the stairs to his room.

Unknown to him, both Sirius and Andy were hiding under the invisibility cloak. Once they heard the door to James's room close, Andy and Sirius pulled the cloak off. They both looked at each other with worried faces.

"I think we've got our work cut out for us," said Sirius as both of them headed down the stairs.

"Fasten your seatbelts ladies and gentlemen. It's going to be a bumpy year," said Andy as she flopped on the couch.

"So what do we do now?" said Sirius taking a seat on coffee table in front of the couch.

"Got me. Besides it's your turn to come up with an idea," said Andy looking over at him.

Sirius looked off into space deep in thought until an idea hit him. "I think I got an idea, but you may not like it."

"For the hundredth time Blackie we are not going to lock them up," sighed Andy.

"I wasn't going to say that exactly," said Sirius. Andy rose up on to her elbows to look at him properly with a curious look on her face.

"What did you have in mind?"

* * *

**Disclaimer:** For the hundredth time. I only own the characters I made up and this story. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.


	20. The Game of Love

****

Days in Avalon

Chapter Twenty: The Game of Love

As the week went on, Sirius and Andy waited until the opportune moment arrived to pull off their plan. What they thought would be a simple task, turned out to be an all out production. For the next few days the two of them kept a close eye on Lily and James, but found it nearly impossible to find them together. James was always seen coming up with new Quidditch plays or hexing a number of Slytherins, while Lily could be found in the library, handling her prefect duties, or seen with one of her friends. All looked lost for duo's plan until finally the fates decided to play a hand.

__

Thursday morning…

The sixth year students were gathered in their Transfiguration class, while Professor McGonagall lectured on about changing an animal in motion into a lovely houseplant. A few students were seen dozing off (particularly two raven haired boys), while the rest of the class was busy taking notes or doodling in their notebooks. As the final bell rang, practically everyone jumped out of their seats and made a mad dash out of the classroom.

"Just a moment!" bellowed Professor McGonagall. The students could tell she was more than a little miffed about their current behavior.

"I'd like to remind you all that I will be checking up on how your projects are progressing. So I'd encourage all of you to meet up with your partners and work on your projects, if you haven't done so already," stated Professor McGonagall as she perched her lips tightly together making the faint line on her face even smaller.

All of the students nodded silently as they left the classroom quietly. Once everyone was a few feet away from the classroom, the low rumbled of students talking started up again.

"Great…more homework," groaned Felicia.

"Well I don't see what your problem is. It's not that hard to split the work up. Besides most of your information can be found in your old Transfiguration books," said Karen.

"Oh, you're one to talk," laughed Felicia hollowly. "You've got a partner who doesn't stutter uncontrollably and knock over practically everything in his path."

Kelly, Andy, and Lily couldn't help but giggle at Felicia's overreaction to her partner.

"Peter isn't that bad," replied Kelly.

Felicia glared at her friend not finding anything amusing. "Yeah, right," said Felicia darkly.

Andy just shook her head at her friend's comment. Sure Peter could be somewhat of a klutz, but so could Felicia at any given moment. As they continued to walk down the corridor, Andy glanced behind her and saw that Lily had slipped into another world surrounded by her thoughts.

"What's the matter, Lil?" inquired Andy, as she slowed her pace a bit so she was now walking side by side with Lily.

Hearing her friend's question, Lily shook her head trying to rid her thoughts of what had happened a few days ago with James. "Nothing. Just got a lot of things on my mind," answered Lily with a weak smile.

"Oh," replied Andy not wanting to push Lily over the edge. She had a pretty good idea as to what her friend was thinking about. The little incident in the common room. For as Andy as know Lily, she knew that her friend regretted letting her emotions get the better of her and pull some stunt like stomping on James's foot.

After a few moments of silence, Andy decided to see if Lily had calmed down enough to talk about her partner. "So…how's it working out with James? I see he's still walking around, so I know you haven't killed him yet."

Lily let out an amused chuckle at her friend's little joke. "No, I haven't killed him yet. To tell you the truth, I haven't really had the chance to work with him."

"How come? I thought you two were working on your project the other day?"

"We were, but there were some issues and problems that came between us. Particularly with his mouth," stated Lily. Andy could see her friend's eyes blaze with the same rage that always appeared when she talked about something James did to her.

"Aaahh," replied Andy. She knew exactly where Lily was coming from, James always did have the tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

"I'm surprised at you, Andy?" said Lily after a few moments of silence.

"How so?"

"Well, I just told you that he practically insulted me, and you haven't bombarded me with how I should give your friend Potter a chance. You're acting as if you already knew what I was going to say. What's gotten into you?" inquired Lily as she gave her friend a concern look.

'_Uh-oh. How did I walk into this one? Okay quick fixing,' _thought Andy. "Isn't it obvious?"

Lily shook her head in confusion, not knowing what she was getting at.

"I mean you don't really like the boy, so why should I waste my breath trying to convince you that he's a nice guy? And to answer your question of how I already knew, I didn't. But, I know James and how is…so it was only a matter of time before he stuck his foot in his mouth for the millionth time. So again why should I even bother, when it's a lost cause," said Andy smoothly. Lily couldn't help but be amazed at her friend's response.

"Besides," added Andy, "I've got bigger fish to fry with just trying to work with Blackie. Or I should say, trying not to strangle the bloke."

Lily couldn't help but laugh at the irony of both of their situations. Each of them stuck with their worst enemy and trying to keep a cool head while with them.

"Guess we're in the same boat, huh?" chuckled Lily.

"As always," said Andy with a fake smile.

"Speaking of which," said Lily suddenly after they turned the corner. Both girls found both James and Sirius standing in the middle of the corridor going over Quidditch plays.

"Guess we should go talk to them, huh?" added Lily, not really wanting to deal with James.

"Or we could pull them by the ears until they agree to our whim," chimed Andy.

Lily gave a heartfelt laugh at her comment. "Let's call that plan B."

Andy simply sneered at her idea. "You can call it plan B, but as for myself, that's the only way I'm going to get through the three bottles of goop that's on that head of his."

With that, both girls headed over toward where their partners were.

"Hey, Blackie. We need to talk…NOW!" barked Andy. Before Sirius could even respond, Andy grabbed him by his necktie and dragged him back toward the hallway that Andy and Lily just came from.

'Whoo…glad I'm not Padfoot,' thought James before his eyes landed on Lily. 'Uh-oh'

"Potter…we need to talk," said Lily calmly.

James gave her a skeptical look as visions of their last conversation popped into his head. "You sure that's a wise? I don't know if my feet can take another conversation."

Lily slightly cringed at the thought of her outburst. Although it was common knowledge she didn't really get along with him, Lily didn't really intend to hurt him on purpose.

"I want to apologize for that. It was the wrong thing to do. I shouldn't have done that," said Lily sincerely.

James gave her a skeptical look but could see in her eyes that her apology was heartfelt. As he continued to look in her eyes a little longer, he felt that all to familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach whenever he looked at Lily.

__

'No I can't feel like that anymore. She doesn't like me, and I don't like her,' thought James.

"It's…fine," said James after a few moments. "So…what did you want to talk about?"

Lily tried with all her might to keep her anger in check. Since she apologized for stomping on James's foot, Lily thought he would also apologize for his harsh comment about how she mistreats her friends. She took a couple of deep breaths and buried her feelings in order to continue on.

"Well…like Professor McGonagall said, she's going to be checking in on our project. So I guess we should attempt to get some work done, civilly."

"All right then. When do you want to meet up?" asked James. He side stepped out of the way to allow a group of noisy fourth years to walk by and headed toward another hallway.

"How about today, after dinner in the common room," suggested Lily.

"Sounds good to me."

"All right then. So I'll see you after dinner then," replied Lily. With that, she walked away from James and headed up the nearby staircase to her next class.

At that same moment, Andy and Sirius were standing in the adjacent hallway listening in on their friend's conversation. Everything was going fine until the group of fourth years walked pass them and drowned out James and Lily for a few moments.

"Well they're not at each others throats so I guess that's a good sign," whispered Sirius.

"Did you catch what Lily said?" inquired Andy.

"No. You?" asked Sirius. Andy shook her head in response. At that moment, Lily walked away and James headed off down the corridor again.

"Okay so stage one is complete. Now what?" said Andy.

"We wait and see what happens," replied Sirius in a business like tone.

"And if they start up again?"

Sirius then turned around to look directly at Andy with an impish grin playing on his face. "Then we step in."

"And you actually believe it will work?" chimed Andy with a raised eyebrow.

Sirius nodded and came up with an interesting idea. "Care to make a wager?"

Andy was taken back just a bit at his proposal. "Okay…how much?"

"Well…" started Sirius, not actually thinking she would take the bet. "Usually I charge five gallons, but in your case, I'll settle for two."

Andy looked at him as if he had two heads and took his offer as somewhat of an insult just because she was a girl. "I think I can handle five. That is unless of course you're afraid to take on a girl?"

"How about three and a week supply of sugar quills?" suggested Sirius. Normally he would have been more than willing to put up five gallons. But since he had been disinherited and disowned by his family, money was now slightly tight, and Sirius knew better than bet more he's willing to part with.

Andy pondered the idea for a few moments before agreeing to the terms.

* * *

As evening fell on Hogwarts, all of the students were busy studying and working on their homework either in their common rooms or the library.

Lily busied herself with finishing up the last little bit of her homework while waiting for James who was running late again. The common room was a little less busy than normal. A few students were sitting across the room going over their Astronomy homework, while others busied themselves with other things. Lily noticed that Kelly was sitting by the fireplace writing a letter to Braden, as well as to her parents.

After a few more minutes of waiting, James finally came running through the porthole and found Lily sitting in the corner on the far side of the common room. When he got over to the table, he saw that she was about tear into him but he beat her to the punch.

"Sorry! Sorry. I know. I'm late," said James as he quickly took an empty seat and flopped his book bag on the table. Lily gave him a stern look as he pulled out a notebook, quill, and ink. He then proceeded to lean back in his chair and propped up his feet on the table.

"Okay so…where do we begin?" asked James, ready to get down to work. Lily eyed him and looked from his face to where his feet were.

"Well for starters you can take you foot off my book," growled Lily. James gave her a quizzical look, until he looked at where his right foot was.

"He he…oops. Sorry," said James cautiously. He then took his feet off the table and sat up straight in his chair.

"It's all right," replied Lily. She really didn't want to get into a row with him. All she really wanted was to just work on their project and get it done.

"So how far have you gotten?" inquired James, eager to get back on task. He noticed Lily slowly grin at the idea of finally working and watched as she pulled out a number of things from her bag.

"Well…" started Lily. "I've taken some notes on how wizards in medieval times came up with the spells to transform the objects they so desired into what they needed. I also found some information on where the words originated, who came up with the spells, and some of the dangers of mispronouncing the words."

James stared in amazement at how much Lily had accomplished in such a short amount of time. He thumbed through the two notebooks full of notes that Lily had taken, as she talked about what she found.

"Geez…you really did your homework," stuttered James. As he continued to look through her notes, he slowly began to worse and worse with each passing page.

"It was really quite easy. If you know where to look. So…what have you done?" asked Lily. The moment she asked, James wished she didn't. He tried to quickly come up with anything, but was drawing a blank. Unable to find a way out, he reluctantly pulled out a scroll from his bag.

"Uh…well just this," he answered as he handed it over to her. Lily inscrolled the piece of parchment and read James's scrawl.

"James I already found this," said Lily looking up at him. "And the ink hasn't even dried yet," she added noticing some shinny spots of fresh ink.

"Yeah, that's why I was late," said James avoiding her eyes. "I stopped off at the library. Thought it was a good idea."

"Oh…well it was," replied Lily. She could understand that it was possible that they had both gotten the same information. That was until…

"Wait a minute. What about the notes you took on Monday when we were in the library?"

"Uh…well…uh…funny thing really," chuckled James uncomfortably.

"Potter?"

"Well…I didn't quite exactly…take notes per say."

"You what?" said Lily. She could see that this was leading up to something stupid, and felt her temper begin to rise. "So if you didn't take notes, then what did you do all that time?"

"Uh well…coming up with…some plays," said James as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Play! You mean to tell me that for nearly two hours that could have been used to work on our project…you spent on Quidditch plays!" roared Lily, causing a few students to stop what they were doing.

"Yes," said James visibly cringing. He could slowly see Lily's face almost turn the same shade as her hair.

"Of all the idiotic things…I-I…ooohh. You know I can put up a lot, Potter. But this…argh. T-This is just as bad as not apologizing for what you said the other day," screamed Lily.

"Why should I apologize. I was speaking the truth! I was only saying what I saw," said James defensively.

"How would you even know! You're to busy coming up with your stupid plays!" roared Lily.

_

* * *

(Meanwhile out side in the hall…) _

"So did you have a good time?"

"Yeah," said Andy as she walked down the hall with her date. He was fifth year Hufflepuff with short spiky brown hair, brown eyes, and the beginning stages of a mustache.

"It was really sweet the way you arranged for that carriage ride," she added with a fake smile. '_Even though you kept trying to grab me, and continued to stare at me the entire time.'_

As both of them came near the portrait of the fat lady, they came to a stop and faced each other.

"Thank you for a lovely evening, Tim," said Andy sweetly. She wanted nothing more than to say goodnight, head up to her room, and forget this night ever happened.

"So what do you say about going out again on Saturday?" asked Tim, with a sly grin. Seeing that grin made Andy cringe on the inside.

"Ah, ooh, I don't think so. I've got some homework to do. A lot actually," said Andy hoping he would take a hint.

"How about Sunday then," said Tim, quickly looking so hopeful.

"Look Tim…" sighed Andy trying to make this as painless as possible. Although she had a terrible time with him, she still didn't want to hurt his feelings. "You are a really nice guy and all…it's just I don't think this is going to work out. It's not you. It's me. I've just got way to much on my plate right now, and I don't want to lead you on or anything."

"Oh! I-I'm sorry to hear that," said Tim sadly. "So I guess this is good-night then?"

"Looks that way."

"Goodnight, Andy," said Tim as he lean in for a kiss.

"Uh…goodnight, Tim," said Andy pulling away.

Tim looked at her a little confused but nodded good-bye and headed back up the hallway that he just came from.

'And good riddance,' thought Andy. She shuttered a bit as the image of him staring at her came across her mind. She turned around to head toward the portrait of the Fat Lady when she saw someone standing in the shadows behind her.

"So another one bites the dust, huh?" said Sirius as he came out of the shadows. Andy let out a visible sigh of relief, learning it was he.

"How long have you been standing there?" asked Andy raising an eyebrow.

"Hmmm…long enough," answered Sirius. He was wearing a somewhat smug face that he always wore when he was getting ready to tease someone. "So what happened? Romeo didn't meet to your 'standards'?"

"Tell you what, Blackie, the next time you go on a date with someone who keeps trying to make a pass at you and stares at you like this," spat Andy, as she titled her head to the side and allowed her eyes to glaze over while making a weird face. "Then will talk."

"No thanks. I think I'll pass," chuckled Sirius when he saw her demonstration.

"Hey aren't you suppose to be keeping tabs on our duo?" said Andy suddenly.

"Yeah I am. If I knew where they were. They weren't in the library at all."

"Huh? That's weird. I would have thought Lily suggested going there."

"Yeah, well they weren't there," said Sirius in a matter of fact tone.

At that moment, the portrait open up and a pool of Gryffindors left the common room, with sounds of yelling coming from within the room. Among the group of students was Kelly heading directly toward where Andy and Sirius were standing.

"Ah, hey Kel," said Andy. "You haven't by any chance seen Lil have you?"

"Yeah, I have," sighed Kelly looking over her shoulder back at the portrait. "She's in the common room tearing into James. If I were you, I wouldn't go in there just yet."

Andy shot Sirius a worried look out of the corner of her eye. She could see that he was rubbing his eyes in frustration.

"Well I'm off to the Owlery. See you later," said Kelly as she left.

"Yeah, thanks Kel," said Andy slightly off handedly. She turned back toward Sirius and saw that he was wearing a similar expression on his face. _'Uh-oh!'_

"Great! Now what?" sighed Andy. "There's no way we can do the whole double team thing you thought up of."

"Now wait a minute. It may work," said Sirius doing some fast thinking. Andy gave him a doubtful look as she raised her eyebrows.

"Look, all we need them to do is agree on talking to each other and get to know one another better. Right? So all we have to do is trick them," said Sirius.

"And how do you propose we do that?" inquired Andy.

She suddenly regretted asking that upon seeing the mischievous grin come across his face. "By doing what we do best of course."

* * *

"Well how could I even try and do any work, when you seem to have everything in order! " roared James. He and Lily were now standing yelling at each other face to face near the fireplace.

"That's because I can't trust my partner who doesn't take anything seriously except that stupid game!" retorted Lily.

"Hey! Quidditch is not stupid," fired James taking her words as a personal insult.

"Oh please! A bunch of people on little sticks chasing around a couple of balls. How challenging is that?"

"Oh, and constantly reading books that you'll probably never use anything out of is challenging?"

"I'd rather expand my mind than ego!"

"I'm sorry are you saying that I have a big ego?" said James pointing a finger to his chest. Lily simply folded her arms and gave him a look that read 'absolutely'.

"Oh, that's rich!" said James with a hallow laugh. "The only one I see here with an ego problem is _you_!"

"Oh you self…" started Lily.

"Jeez that's real orig…" spat James before Lily interrupted him.

"You wouldn't even know the word original if it came up and bit you on the…"

BANG! The loud noise coming from the porthole caused the end of Lily's sentence to be drowned out. Both Lily and James turned toward the direction of the noise and saw Andy storming in with Sirius close behind. Each of them was looking madder than ever.

"You unbelievable wanker! I try to have a civil conversation with you and it turns into this!" cried Andy. She stopped in the middle of the room and turned around to look directly at Sirius. Everyone that was still left in the common room, looked on eagerly at the new pair arguing. A double feature.

"And your saying it's my fault? Huh gee, that's funny because I remember trying to be polite and you were the one who started blowing up!" barked Sirius.

"Oh that's a laugh," chuckled Andy hollowly. "You? Polite? _Please_! The only time you are ever polite, is when you want something, or are chasing around something in a short skirt."

"Oh you really think I'm that shallow?"

"Uh, I don't think. I know!" spat Andy. Sirius gave a hallow laugh at her remark. "You want examples? Fine! How about that little idea of your putting me in that godforsaken toga dress that was _way _to short even for my taste?"

"Hey I was joking around," laughed Sirius.

"No you weren't. I think you need a serious attitude adjustment and learn some real manners on how to treat a lady."

"Oh ho ho," laughed Sirius. "Oh please, enlighten me, oh great and wonderful Princess Sparky. Yes tell me how a relationship should be from someone who had had more boyfriends then shoes!"

"Why you little piece of…"

"And here we go…" chimed Sirius.

"You want to have a g…" started Andy.

"Oh you couldn't beat me if…"

"Want to make a bet…"

As Sirius and Andy continued to argue like a couple of two year olds, Lily and James looked on seeing that this fight was quickly getting out of hand.

"Hey guys! Guys. GUYS!" yelled James trying to get their attention.

"SHUT UP!" screamed Sirius and Andy at the same time to Lily.

"Don't you yell at him," roared Sirius turning back to Andy.

"He's my friend t…"

"Oh so that makes…"

"Oh what do you know?"

"You know after all these years…"

"Urgh…you are such a headache!" screamed Andy.

At that moment both Lily and James had had enough. Lily then stuck her thumb and pointer finger into her mouth and gave off a loud whistle.

"GUYS!" screamed James.

"WHAT!" said both of them at the same time.

"What's going on?" said Lily calmly.

"He started it!" said Andy pointing a finger at Sirius. At the same time…

"She started it!" stated Sirius pointing a finger at Andy.

"I did not!" said both of them at the same time. "Did too!"

"Prat!" snorted Andy.

"Know it all!"

"Narrow minded git!"

"Loud mouth!"

"Oh, I'll show you a loud mouth," said Andy as she attempted to lunge at Sirius. James quickly saw where this name call was going and quickly pulled back Andy before she could get her hands on Sirius.

"Okay! That's enough!" said James breaking off the fight.

Andy looked over her shoulder at James and broke out of his grip before sulking off to a nearby corner. Sirius walked to the other side of the room with James closely behind. Lily then walked over to where Andy was grinding her teeth.

"Andy what has gotten into you?" asked Lily.

"Nothing. I just can't stand that …urgh!" growled Andy.

"Okay calm down. What happened exactly?"

"It doesn't matter," sneered Andy. "Because I'm never going to work with that loser again! I don't even care if I fail Transfiguration. There is no way I'm dealing with him for a moment longer."

"Andy come on you don't mean that. Think about your grades. Your career!"

"To hell with it! I'm telling you Lil, this is never going to wok!"

Lily sighed in frustration trying to convince her friend that she's overreacting. But from the look in her eyes, Lily could tell that she wasn't kidding around. She quickly tried to think of something that could convince her to not jeopardize her grades, until an idea popped into her head.

"Andy…why don't you try and…talk to him. Get to know him a bit, if you know what I mean. Maybe that might help you understand him more," said Lily cautiously.

Andy tried to fight the grin that wanted to spread across her face. She excited and slightly amazed that her friend played right into her hands.

"Yeah, I'll do that when you do," snide Andy. With that she left the common room and headed up the stairs toward the girl's dorm. A few seconds later, Sirius followed her in the same act, and head up toward his room. A few moments later, Lily and James heard both of them slamming their doors to each of their dorms.

"What was that all about?" said James in confusion, as he headed back toward the table where his stuff was.

"I think it's the same thing between us," said Lily. She saw James give her a questionable look before she added, "Not getting along I mean."

"Ahh…" replied James. There were a couple of awkward moments of silence between the two of them, until James decided to break it.

"So..uh…what do we do about that? Us getting along and all, I mean."

"I don't know," shrugged Lily. "I guess we could talk. I mean learn about one another."

"What, you mean like tonight?" said James. He looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly nine o'clock now, and he still had to finish three essays that were due by tomorrow.

"No not tonight," chuckled Lily, seeing the worried look on his face. "We need more time. How about Saturday in the evening?"

"Sure. I guess," said James not totally convinced.

"Fine. Now if you'll excuse me," said Lily as she got up from her seat and pack up some of her things. "I have to go on duty."

With that, Lily walked out of the common room, through the porthole leaving James to finish up his homework. Unknown to anyone, Sirius and Andy had snuck out of their rooms and were crouched down on the floor of the balcony, over looking the common room and joining the two main doors to the dorm rooms. Both of them had heard what James and Lily had said and were now reveling in the fact that the plan had worked.

"See I told you it would work," whispered Sirius. He then put out his hand to Andy. "Pay up!"

Andy rolled her eyes as she pulled out a small pouch from her pocket that contained the three gallons. Sirius smiled childishly at his newly acquired prize money, causing Andy to laugh.

"Lucky break," chuckled Andy.

**Disclaimer:** It's all J.K. Rowling. She created this world of Harry Potter; I'm just borrowing the characters she created. I only own the characters I made up and this idea.


	21. Come Clean

_At this time I'd like to thank Whitepaw for the great quotes that she sent me. THANK YOU!_

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Twenty-One: Come Clean**

Saturday morning arrived with a sigh of relief. Everyone was eager to forget about what had happened during the week. Even if it were for a few short hours. At the Gryffindor table, the students were enjoying their breakfast. All except for one person...

"What's up, Evans?" inquired Karen as she put down her glass of orange juice.

Lily sat there looking at her empty plate lost in her thoughts. She didn't even hear Karen addressing her, or anyone for that matter until someone lend over to look at her directly in the eyes.

"Knut for your thoughts?" asked Kelly. With that said and done, Lily finally blinked out of her own personal world and saw three of her friends looking staring at her.

"Huh? Oh, uh it's nothing. I'm just having second thoughts about this evening," said Lily quietly looking down at the table. She quickly glanced up and grabbed a nearby muffin before putting it on her plate.

"Lily would you relax," said Kelly. "Nothing is really going to happen."

"Right and if anything does, Kel and I will be upstairs if you need us," said Andy before she put a forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth.

"Hey gals," said Felicia, coming up from behind Andy and Karen. "What's up?"

"Nothing Felicia," said Andy. She scooted over to make room for Felicia. "Just calming a worried wart." Lily playful glared at Andy before she began to pile up her plate with food.

"So what are you doing tonight?" inquired Kelly, addressing Felicia.

"I don't know. Maybe hang out with my guy," replied Felicia with a grin. Andy tried to fight the urge to roll her eyes, so she merely turned her head to look down the table.

"Are we ever going to know who this mystery bloke is?" asked Lily.

"Well...if you really want to know. It's...Sirius," said Felicia quietly.

"Sirius who?" asked Karen.

"You know...Sirius!" replied Felicia as if it were obvious. Lily, Kelly, and Karen all looked at each other in shock before erupting into a fit of laughter.

"Ha, ha...what Black?" chuckled Kelly. Felicia nodded in response, which sent her three friends into another wave of laughter.

"Yeah, right," gasped Lily.

"Oh that's a good one," giggled Karen, struggling to breath.

"She's not kidding," said Andy seriously. "She's dating him." The moment she said that, all three of them stopped laughing at once and saw that this wasn't a joke.

"What?" said Karen stunned.

"Yeah, it's true," said Andy looking at each of them in the eyes. Felicia at this point wished she never had said anything at all. She would love nothing more than to disappear now from her friend's intense stares.

"H-How? W-When?" stuttered Kelly.

"A couple of weeks ago. Pretty much since the beginning of the year," said Felicia not looking at any of them.

"Felicia, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean he's..." said Lily, trying to be reasonable.

"A playboy!" interrupted Karen. "What are you thinking?"

"Hey lay off her," barked Andy. "It's her life. Let her choose who she should date."

Lily, Karen, Kelly, and Felicia looked at her in complete shock. Of all people, Lily, Karen, and Kelly would have thought that Andy would be boiling over now, but instead she was defending Felicia's relationship with her worst enemy. Felicia made a mental note to thank Andy later for standing up for her and for accepting her and Sirius's relationship.

"If she wants to see him, then we should support her," added Andy.

"Okay...who are you and what have you done with Andy?" inquired Karen.

"How did you even know she was going out with him before us?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, and you didn't kill him?" added Kelly.

"Look, I'll admit I wasn't to thrilled when I found out earlier this week, but...I see how they are and ...I'm fine with it," struggled Andy.

The three of them involuntarily opened their mouths in shock and amazement at what she said and how well she was taking this.

"Yeah, right," said Karen under her breath.

"Well...if your happy then...I guess congratulations are in order," said Lily after a few moments of silence.

"Thanks," said Felicia with a smile. At that moment, a hundred or so owls came flying into the Great Hall delivering letters and care packages to all the students.

"Ah...saved by the post," said Kelly.

As the owls swooped over the students looking for their owners, a few letters dropped in front of Kelly, Lily and Andy.

"Woo la la. Somebody knows someone in ole Paris," said Felicia looking at the three letters Andy had received. She saw on the envelope that someone had written a Paris return address.

"Relax Figg. Their letters from my sisters and...my mum?" said Andy noticing the last letter in the pile with her mother's handwritting.

"Huh...that's odd. She hardly ever writes to me unless there's some travesty with her new line," she said as she tore open the letter.

"Why are they in France?" said Karen.

"Yeah. You never told us why your sister transferred out of Hogwarts," added Felicia.

"I didn't?" said Andy about to pull out the letter. Three of her friends shook their heads in response.

"Oh I thought I did," answered Andy. She put down her letter and took a deep breath, knowing that the time had come to tell her other friends about what had happened. "Uh...well the reason why Jen is in France is because she's living with my mum. Andy my mother is living in France because she and my father got divorced."

"Divorced?" said Kelly in surprised.

"What? When did this happen?" said Felicia.

"Right before summer holiday. They told us about a day after we got back. They've been fighting for some time now, so they split up. Jen and Isabella are living in France with mum, and Jason and I are living in London with dad. It's no big deal really," shrugged Andy as she took a sip of her juice.

"Oh honey...we're so sorry," sympathized Karen.

"Ah...I'm fine," said Andy as if it were nothing. But Lily could see that this still really hurt her deeply. She knew what the others were thinking and how it was making Andy feel uncomfortable, so she decided to step in to take some of the heat off her.

"So...um," said Lily clearing her throat. "I don't think I'm going to deal with James. I'm not sure if I can take another one of his be ratings."

Andy looked up and gave Lily a heartfelt smile, and silently thanked her. She then picked up her letter from her mother and began reading it.

"Ugh," sighed Kelly. "Lily for the hundredth time, nothing will happen. Everything will be fine."

"Right and if he says something stupid you can hex him, or kick him in the leg again," stated Felicia.

"I didn't kick him. I just stepped on his foot kinda hard," said Lily defensively.

"Whatever," said Felicia offhand.

Suddenly out of nowhere, Andy slammed down her letter on the table, looking highly upset about something. The force of her hands hitting the table caused a few people to turn in her direction and knocked some things over.

"Star are you okay?" inquired Kelly. Andy continued to stare off into space, not answering her.

"Andy? Andy?" called Lily, waving a hand in front of her face. This caused her to come back to reality. "Are you all right?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah. I'm fine. Never better," said Andy darkly.

"Andy what happened?" inquired Felicia.

"Nothing," she answered shaking her head, as she violently put the letter back into the envelop. "Just my mum being the melodramatic queen she is."

"You sure?" asked Karen.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Uh...you know actually," said Andy looking at her watch and getting up from the table, "I uh, I need to go and pick up something in Hogsmeade. I'll, uh, I'll see you gals later."

"Hey!" Said Lily trying to get Andy to stop. "Are you sure your okay? Do you want me to come along?"

"Andy shook her head in response. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to clear my head is all. I'll talk to you later." With a quick smile, Andy headed off and out of the Great Hall.

'_Something is up with her,'_ thought Lily.

"Don't worry about her," said Felicia sensing what Lily was thinking. "She'll be fine."

As the day dwindled away, Lily tried to avoid James at all cost, and took sanctuary in the library. While in the library, she tried to keep her mind preoccupied with a number of different books; trying to forget all about her meeting with James. She thought about what had happened at breakfast with Andy and wondered what was in that letter. Lily then came to the conclusion that whatever was in the letter, Andy would tell her when she was ready.

* * *

When evening fell, Lily came to the conclusion that she couldn't put it off any longer and decided to head back to Gryffindor tower. As she neared the portrait of the Fat Lady, she wanted nothing more than to turn and run like the wind back the way she came.

"Well here goes nothing. At least I got my two best friends upstairs incase I need them," said Lily to herself before saying the password.

The common room was mostly deserted, which was unusual for a Saturday night. As she looked around, she saw James sitting on the couch staring into the fire lost in his thoughts. He looked up at her when he sensed someone moving closer to him. He quickly stood up when she was a few feet away and felt that familiar feeling in his stomach again when he looked at her in the firelight.

"Hi," said James quietly.

"Hello," replied Lily.

"I-I thought you wouldn't show," stuttered James.

"Yeah. Well I almost didn't. Sorry I'm so late," apologized Lily.

"It's fine." He motioned for her to take a seat on the couch and he followed suit.

"So...uh...what should we talk about?" asked James. Lily was wondering the same thing. In all the years she had known James, there was never really indication that they shared any of the same interest or had anything in common. Safe for the fact that they both didn't really like each other and that they use to torment each other with pranks. But that was before Lily decided to put things away and grow up.

"Well, I guess we could talk about where we came from or about our families," suggested Lily. James nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything at all.

"So, uh where are you from?" said Lily taking the initiative.

"Manchester originally. But my family and I just moved out to a country home just out side of Nottingham. You?" said James feeling a little stupid.

"Cambridge," said Lily simply.

There were a few more moments of awkward silence. To Lily, it seemed like trying to pull teeth, just to get James to even say more than a few words to her. James sat there in silence feeling he should say something, but didn't know what to say. There had been to much anger, pain, and damage between them from their years of pranking each other. In the back of both of their minds, they wondered if there was even a chance to even get through this evening. Not able to withstand another moment of silence, lily made another attempt to salvage this conversation.

"So...uh...what's your family like? Do you have a brother? Sister? Dog? Dragon that you unleash on the neighbor's children for your own enjoyment?" said Lily. She mentally slapped herself for letting her speak her mind freely.

James couldn't help but chuckle at her question. "You really think highly of me? Don't you, Evans?"

"Well with the way you act around here, I wouldn't be surprised if it were true," spat Lily, wondering what was getting into her.

"Why is it that whenever we get together, you are the one that seems to bring up the first insult?"

"I don not!" gasped Lily in shock. James merely scoffed at the idea as he leaned back farther into his seat.

"And even if it were true, it's only because you always seem so full of your self," said Lily.

"Some people admire that in people," said James raising his eyebrows.

"Why do I even bother," sighed Lily looking up to at the ceiling for some form of help. She started to get up but James tried to stop on Evans. I'm only kidding around. Don't be so serious all the time," chuckled James.

"See. That's the problem with us. Everything to you is a joke! You never take anything seriously," said Lily putting her hands on her hips.

"I do take things seriously. It's just I also know how to have fun in the process as well. Not everything has to be taken word of word. It's okay to have fun once in a great while."

"Are you saying I don't have fun?" said shocked Lily. James quickly closed his eyes and knew he walked into a trap.

"I didn't mean to say that you don't have fun. Of course you do. Everyone does in there own way. It's just..." stuttered James thinking he shouldn't finish his thought.

"Just what?"

"It's just...well...your definition of fun is...well...boring to others," said James. He could see her frustration rising up in her and saw her being to walk away.

"Look I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you or mistreat you. Why don't you come back and will pick up where we left off," suggested James.

"With what? You joking around and making fun of me?" said Lily coldly. She then started to head for the stairs to her room when she felt someone grab her hand and turn her around.

"I promise, I won't make any jokes or comments or anything that you may find offensive. I'll answer any questions you have and we'll try to work though this. I mean our grade depends on it, right?" Please Lily?" pleaded James.

For some unexplained reason, Lily found herself captivated by the color of James's eyes in the firelight. She could hear a slight tone of panic in his voice when he said her name and she felt something stir inside her. Lily stood there numbly as she stared into James's eyes, while he stared into her emerald ones. The two of them seemed lost for awhile, until Lily's mind began to function again. She nodded absentmindedly and allowed herself to slip from James's grasp. They headed back over to the fireplace, where Lily took her place back on the couch, but James opted to sit in his favorite comfy chair.

"So... you wanted to know about my family?" said James a little uncomfortably. Lily nodded.

"Well...there really isn't much to say. My dad works for the ministry as an auror, and my mum use to work in the department of magical mishaps, but she quit after she had me."

"What about siblings? Do you have a brother or sister?"

"I had a younger brother, but he died before he was born," said James. He looked on Lily, unsure of what she would say.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I-I didn't know," said Lily quietly.

"It's fine. I didn't really know about him until I was about six. He was a year younger than me."

"Oh," was all Lily could say. At this moment, Lily wished she hadn't said anything at all. There were a few moments of awkward silence between the two of them.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," said Lily quietly.

"Why would you say that?" inquired James until it hit him. "Lily, I'm fine with talking about him. I mean I didn't really know him, so I don't really feel sad about not having him around any more. Besides, I kinda do have a brother anyway in Padfoot."

"Well that is true. You two are a couple of peas in a pod," said Lily with a half smile.

"So tell me about yourself Evans. What's it like to be Lily Evans outside of Hogwarts?" asked James taking his hands and clasping them together. Lily fought the urge to giggle at his appearance, but a small squeak escaped from her lips.

"Well...there really isn't much to say about myself. I live with my mum and dad, and my sister," said Lily casually.

"You have a sister? I didn't know that. What's she like?" said James with a raised eyebrow. He suddenly had a mental picture of someone looking and acting like Lily.

"Well she's nothing like me if that's what you are thinking. She's older than me, has blonde hair, and has the face of a horse," said Lily slightly angry. As images of Petunia ran through her brain, Lily was reminded of how horrible her sister had been to her.

James couldn't help but laugh at Lily's outburst. "Your kidding right?"

"Afraid not. She's also annoying, stuck up, nosy, mean, and...urgh!" growled Lily as she described her sister to James.

"I take it that you and her aren't on the best of terms are you?"

"How did you guess," said Lily sarcastically. She took her hands and rubbed her eyes in frustration as she tried to calm down a bit.

"She wasn't all bad, when we were younger. Petunia, my sister, she and I use to get along quite well. But when she started getting interested in clothes and makeup and stuff like that, we grew apart a bit. But for the most part we got along fine."

"So then what happened?"

"I got my letter from Hogwarts. Ever since I was little, strange things use to happen around me, but my family and I always thought it was just a coincidence. But when I got that letter, things just went south from there."

"Well what do you mean?" said James sitting a little more straight in his chair.

"Well...she constantly putting me down. Calling me a weirdo, or a nerd, or, my personal favorite...a freak. She just doesn't understand what I'm doing here. And I'm sick of it. I'm sick of all of it!" answered Lily as the anger she had been bottling up began to rise.

James remained sitting there staring at her. He'd never seen her get upset as she was now. Well he had to rethink that. He had seen her this upset before, only it wasn't her sister that caused it, it was him.

"You know you'd think that she'd grow up and get over it, but no," she continued as she got from the couch and began to pace back and forth in front of James. "And now that she has a boyfriend, they both like to take cracks at me. 'Oh look at the way she dresses. I guess that's the look for freaks now. Boy I'm sure glad I don't go to that school of hers.' And then of course there is always 'Gee Petunia, why does your sister always have her nose in a book. Does she actually believe that guys are going to find that attractive? Guys want a girl who will listen to them. Not ones that express there mind.' Ugh...I just wish she would just mind her own business. What does it matter if I read a lot or not? I just want to be left alone and to live my own life. But apparently that's too much to ask. I don't get any respect at home from my peers and I don't get any here either. I feel like a mouse caught in a maze and just scurrying around trying to please everyone and I can't take it anymore! I can't! I-I just can't," cried Lily as tears began to stream down her face.

Seeing her in so much pain, literally broke James's heart. At that moment James wanted nothing more than to take Lily's pain away, and to keep anyone that would treat her so horribly, away from her, while he took care of them. But if he were to do that, he would have to be the first one, since he had done practically everything to her that her sister had done.

'No wonder she hates me so much,' thought James.

"Hey, hey hey," said James comfortingly as he got up and began to rub Lily's arms. "It's okay Lily. Everything is going to be fine."

"No...it's not. I just can't deal with it anymore. I'm...j-just so tired of everything," sobbed Lily. As James continued to rub her arms, Lily slowly began to fall into him, until she was fully surrounded in James's arms.

"Shh...it's all right Lily. I've got you. You don't have think about them anymore. Just forget about them. Forget about everything else in the world and just concentrate on what you want for once," said James softly into her hair. As he held her, he started to feel different as he inhaled the aroma of her hair.

Lily began to calm down a bit, to hear James's words and was a little surprised at his tone. It sounded so soft and soothing to her as she was wrapped in his arms. His scent was so warm and appealing to her, she wondered why she had never noticed it before. She had a strange feeling of being content with the position she was in. Lily didn't want to this moment to end at all; neither did James.

After a few moments, Lily pulled away from James a bit to look up into his eyes. She felt lost again as she did before when she looked into those hazel eyes of his. She moved down a bit and noticed his lips, and how soft they looked.

James was doing the same thing, as he gazed at the parted buds on Lily's face. He was mesmerized by how pink they were and how cute they looked. But what he really wanted to know at that moment was what they felt like next to his lips. The two of them slowly began to lean into each other with their eyes partly closed. Inch by inch, their lips moved closer to one another, until only a breath was between them. James was about to lean more in to seel his lips over her's until...

"Oh come Lady. Have a heart. It was only a joke," said Sirius as he walked through the porthole.

Upon hearing his voice, Lily and James quickly jumped apart hoping that their situation would go unnoticed by Sirius.

"Oh...what's going on here?" said Sirius with an impish grin. As he walked through the door, he caught a glimpse of the two of them close together about to kiss.

"Uh...nothing," lied Lily. Her face began to turn a bright cherry red that also didn't go unnoticed by Sirius.

"Yeah, nothing really," agreed James. He could tell that his friend wasn't buying it so he quickly came up with a likely story.

"Lily, here was just telling me about her family. And we sort of stumbled onto a sore spot."

"Prongs, how could you, do that to the poor girl!" mocked Sirius.

"It wasn't his fault. Besides, it helps to talk about it. I'm better now anyways," said Lily.

"Right," said Sirius with a smirk.

"Uh so Padfoot, what did you want?" asked James eager to change the subject.

"Oh well...actually I was wondering if you two had seen Sparky. We were suppose to meet up to work our project."

"Uh, no not since this morning," said Lily realizing now that her friend had been missing all day. "She said she needed to go out and clear her head."

"Oh, huh," sighed Sirius finding it kinda odd. "Well alright then. I guess I'll be heading out for a late night snack, if she's not here. Prongs?"

"Nah, you go ahead. I'm getting kinda tired." said James, taking a glance at Lily

"Suit yourself," shrugged Sirius before disappearing through the portrait with a mischievous smirk.

"Well I guess we should be heading off to bed. It is getting late." said Lily as she looked at the clock.

"Yeah it is. But do you really want to do that?"

"Well...no," she answered looking him directly in the eyes. "I guess we could talk a little more if you want to?"

"Sure. So tell me about the muggle world," said James with a smile.

* * *

As Sirius left the common room, he decided against heading down toward the kitchens. Instead he headed up toward the Astronomy tower. He couldn't understand why he headed up there, but it felt like something or someone telling him to go up there.

_'This is ridiculous, there is no one up there,' _thought Sirius as he reached the base of the stairs that led up to the tower.

As he climbed the staircase, sure enough, as soon as he neared the top of the tower, he could hear someone outside singing some sad pathetic song. But as he continued to climb, he could also smell something rather odd. When he reached the top, he found Andy sitting with her back toward him on the ledge off the tower.

"Thought you would be up here," chuckled Sirius.

"Yeah...so I am," said Andy darkly without looking at him. He noticed her taking a sip out of a bottle that was in her hand. "What do you want?" spat Andy turning her head toward him.

"Oh my aren't we vicious this evening," joked Sirius as he came up next to Andy. At that moment, Andy pulled out a small silver container and pulled out a cigarette, which she then lite up

"What are you doing?" said a confused Sirius.

"What does it look like? I'm smoking a cigarette," she said offhandedly.

"Since when do you smoke?"

"Since this past summer." said Andy before she took a drag from her cigarette. She quickly finished her smoke and then took another sip of her drink. Sirius had a better look of the bottle now and saw that she was holding a bottle of firewiskey.

"And drinking firewhiskey?" said Sirius slightly amazed. _'What is up with his girl?'_

"Hmm... the drinking I started this summer as well. But the firewhiskey I started tonight," said Andy with a slight grin. "What are you doing up here anyway?"

"Uh, well...I thought you should know that our little lovebirds are getting along quite well down in the common room," stated Sirius hoping the news would bring her out of this funk she was in.

"Hmm...love. Now there's a laugh," chuckled Andy as she took a swig from her bottle.

"What's love got to do with anything? All it ever does is cause you heartache and suffering," she added as she got up and began to walk along the edge of the tower. "Oh yeah, sure, people sing about it as it's the greatest thing in the world. 'Love is like oxygen.' 'Love is a many splendid thing.' 'Love lifts you up to where you belong.' Or my personal favorite...'All you need is love.' Ha! Love is a joke. Love bites. It stinks. It's a headache. Nothing good has ever come out of true love."

With that said Andy broke out into a fit of giggles. "Now that's the biggest laugh of them all. Heck even authors know love is a joke."

Sirius watched Andy closely as she began to sway back and forth on the ledge during her little performance. He had visions of her falling over, but was grateful when she finally jumped down onto the floor of the tower. He wondered what she was getting at and why she was acting like she was.

"Take Shakespeare for example," continued Andy as she topped off her bottle. "Romeo thinks his beloved Juliet is dead. So what does he do? He drinks poison, only it turns out that she's not dead at all. And what does she do when she sees him dead after she wakes up? She stabs herself in the heart! Oh yeah...nothing says 'i love you' like a knife through the heart. Oh yes love, is a tragedy. Nothing good really happens in real life! My parents are a prime example!" shouted a laughing Andy.

"Your parents?" asked Sirius with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yes. See at the end of last year, they tell all four of their children that they had gotten a divorce a week before three of them came home from school, and that my mother was moving to France. Well since she wanted to spend some time with her children, in hopes that at least one of us would stay with her, we all went to Paris for the summer. But when we got there, I find my mother dating another man! But no just any man..._GASTON_!" said Andy in a mock French accent. "Another fellow designer. '_Oh don't worry, Miranda. I've just met him a few weeks ago. We've only been seeing each other for a week or so now." _she said in a slightly high pitch tone, that Sirius assumed was suppose to be her mother's voice.

"Ha ha that's a laugh. Oh my perfectly saint mother thought she had us all fooled. But she didn't. She hadn't been seeing him for a week or two. She's been seeing him for seven months! Seven **_MONTHS_**!" screamed Andy. Sirius watched her as tears began to fall from her eyes. "S-She...she lied to me...to all of us for seven months. She'd been cheating on my father for seven months. She left him for another man! She left her family for him! She left _me_! She left me!" cried Andy. Her entire body began to shake uncontrollably and looked as if she were about to fall to the ground, before Sirius quickly went over to her and grabbed her.

"Hey. Hey shh. It's all right. It's all right now. Let it out. Just let it all out," said Sirius soothingly as he held her and stroked her hair comfortingly.

"How could a mother do that to her own children," sobbed Andy into Sirius's shirt.

"Maybe she wasn't happy with your dad."

"No," said Andy suddenly as she pulled out of Sirius's embrace to look him square in the face. "My father was wonderful to her."

"He may have been, but she might still not have been happy. I mean love is a simple emotion. It's people that are complicated."

Andy knew he was right, but she wouldn't let him know that. She wiped away some of her tears as she looked to the night sky for some sort of help or guidance. "I still don't understand why though."

"I guess that's just between your parents."

"I don't ever want to fall in love," said Andy quietly. She went over to the edge of the tower again, and sat down on the cold hard floor of the roof. "Love is blind, and also psychotic."

"Well, that's true for some," chuckled Sirius as he took a seat next to her. After a few moments of silence, Andy was suddenly hit with the realization of who she was actually talking too.

"Oh, this must be a real laugh for you. Seeing me all in distress and looking a mess. Well take a look at the perfect princess Sparky, with her perfect life ruined."

"Nah. I may be cruel sometimes but, I don't take pleasure in people's misery outside of school," said Sirius with a smirk.

"What do you know of misery?"

"Trust me. I've got my own family problems."

"Oh yeah. What? Broke a vase in mummy and daddy's house?"

"Something like that," said Sirius darkly. Andy gave him a confused look, and he knew that there was no way of getting out it. He had to tell her. "I uh...I ran away from home."

"You what?" said a shocked Andy. "When?"

"This summer."

"What happened?"

"Nothing really. I just couldn't deal with them anymore," shrugged Sirius.

"Who's them?" said Andy not understanding what he was talking about.

"My family. My mother, father, Reglus, aunts, uncles, you name it. Even the house elf was getting bad," stated Sirius. He took a deep breath of the night air before he continued on with his story. " For my entire life, it has been nothing but constant degrading and put downs, and...and...and..."

"And what?"

"How I'm nothing. That I'm a waste of existence. That...that I never should have been born."

"You shouldn't let your brother..."started Andy.

"It was my mother who said that." With that said, Andy wore a shocked face. She couldn't believe that a mother would do that to her own child. But from the look on Sirius's face, and the tone in his voice, she knew it was true.

"She told me that for sixteen years," continued Sirius. "Until finally I couldn't take it anymore. I got into a fight with my father about how I'm a failure to Black name. That I haven't lived up to my potential as the first born son of a Black. Then finally something just snapped. He tried using his wand on me, but I kicked it out of his hand and knocked him to the ground."

"Then what happened?"

"I ran. I ran upstairs to my room. I locked the door, packed up my things, and used my broom to fly out of there. I still can hear my mother and father beating down the door to get to me. The next thing I know, I'm flying from London to the country side to James's house. Since then, I've been staying with the Potters and they sort of took me in like another son."

"So that's why you act the way you do when I called you a mamma's boy. I'm sorry. I-I didn't know," stuttered Andy.

"Yeah, well a lot of people don't. The only other person that knows about me leaving home is Prongs. And now...so do you." Sirius watched Andy's face and saw that she was deep in thought as she allowed his words to sink in. "Don't feel sorry for me or anything."

"I wasn't really thinking that," said Andy quietly.

"Then what were you thinking of?"

"How brave you are," she said looking him directly in the eyes. Sirius gave her a confused look before she continued on. "Well I mean look at it. You spent your whole life trying to survive your family. Then finally you just end it all by leaving. Not very many people have the strength to do that. I think leaving your family was the best thing you could do."

"Thanks."

"Take a look at us, huh?" chuckled Sirius after a few moments of silence had passed. "Here we are two enemies telling each other our own personal problems. Kinda ironic huh?"

"Yeah," laughed Andy as she thought of the idea. "Funny really. If people could see us now."

The two of them laughed together as they thought about the idea. But after a few moments, both of them fell silent, not sure what to say now. Sirius noticed that Andy's right knee was touching his left leg and he suddenly felt this uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Andy looked up from her lap and locked eyes with Sirius. She never noticed just how light his eyes were in all the years they have known each other. To her it was the perfect combination of blue and grey that seemed to trap her as she felt world around her slowly disappear.

Sirius couldn't help but feel lost in Andy's blue eyes. They were still shining with tears from before, but that only seemed to bring the blue out more.

As the two of them continued to look at each other, both of them slowly began to lean closer to each other unconsciously. Sirius was so close to her now, he could smell the light fragrance of her perfume, hidden among the amount of liquor she had consumed tonight. Both slowly closed their eyes a bit until...

"_HOOOOTT! HOOOT!"_

At the sound of one of the school owls looking for a late night snake, Sirius and Andy quickly pulled away and wondered what had just happened. Or better yet...what would have happened.

"I uh, I guess it's getting kinda late," said Sirius suddenly.

"Yeah I guess so," said Andy. She really didn't want to head back inside just yet. At that moment, she wished it was still summer time and that she was back in Paris.

"Uh, gods I wish I go to a party or something. I just need to let loose, you know?" said Andy as she stretched out her back. "Just get away from school and forget about my problems for a bit."

"Yeah I know what you mean. I liked being able to go to pubs and stuff over the summer late at night. That is before I moved in with the Potter's," said Sirius. Andy looked at him as an idea popped into her head.

"You do?"

"Yeah. What are you thinking?" asked Sirius seeing a mischievous look form on her face.

"Well...nah. It's nothing."

"Spill it Sparky."

Andy glared at him, for calling her that, but continued on with what she was going to say. "Well...along with my mum's letter, I got a letter from my sister Jen, and she...well...Oh why am I even thing this. It's impossible."

"What is?" asked Sirius getting very curious, as to what her idea is.

"Well...over the summer, Jen and I found this brilliant club in Paris that for wizards. Pure and muggle borns. Anyway, she was telling me how she went there last weekend with her friends and how much fun she had."

"Let me guess. You want to go?"

"I know it's ridiculous and crazy, and stupid really. I mean how can I even get there when I'm here at Hogwarts," chuckled Andy.

"That's true. But this club. What's it like?"

"It's pretty wicked. They've got great music and three different floors of dancing. And on each floor there is a bar, and the bartenders don't even card you."

"Sounds pretty good," said Sirius thinking it over. Andy got the impression that he wanted to go, but there had to be something in it for him. Or better yet, something there that would get him to go.

"It is. But there is also a room, where guys or girls can go in and watch whatever Quidditch match is on. And there are some really pretty girls there that were these outfits that are unlike anything you have ever seen."

"What do they look like dragons or something?"

"Not exactly. Let's just say that some of the outfits I've seen leave little to the imagination if you get what I mean," said Andy with a smirk.

With that said, Sirius's face lit up with the idea of seeing half naked french girls dance around him.

"Okay I'm in."

"Well that's great that you want to go. But like I said. It's in Paris and we are here in Hogwarts. Hence the problem," said Andy.

"Yeah. That is a problem. But what if I had a way of getting us there?"

"I'm listening," said Andy curious as to what he was getting at.

"Hmm...not yet," said Sirius acting as if he would tell her.

"Fine then. I'll just find a way there myself," said Andy in a matter of fact tone.

"Yeah right," laughed Sirius. "Like you can find a way to get from here all the way to Paris."

"You can do a lot of things if you put your mind to it. Besides, how do I know you even know a way of getting there?" asked Andy with a raised eyebrow.

"Trust me," said Sirius smugly. "I have a way."

"And it's legal?"

"Well...no. Not entirely. It really all depends on how you look at it," stated Sirius. Andy merely sneered at his remark and rolled her eyes. '_Should have know.'_

"Come on, what have you got to loose?" asked Sirius with a smile. He could see Andy was weighing her options. She really did want to go and have a good time at her favorite summer past time. But was she willing to risk taking Sirius along as well. Or better yet, possibly putting her own life in danger?

"Okay fine. I'll supply the fun if you can get the transportation. I'll owl Jen to find out when all the fun really happens. That should give you enough time to cover your tracks," said Andy.

"Oh the lady thinks so highly of me," said Sirius sarcastically.

"Whatever," sighed Andy as she began to get up. Half way up, she began to feel woozy and started to fall back to the ground. Sirius quickly got up and helped her up the rest of the way.

"Whoa, take it easy there, Sparky," he said. "Here let me help you out." With that, he pulled out his wand and muttered a spell that helped clear Andy's fogginess.

"Thanks. Where did you learn that?"

"Over the summer. You know your not the only one who's gone on a drinking binge over the summer holiday," said Sirius with a smirk.

Within a couple of minutes, the two of them found themselves standing out side the portrait of the fat lady in the early morning hours. They woke the fat lady up and mutter the password before they quietly entered the common room. When the got in, they found the room still lite up by the fireplace. But what really took them by surprise was seeing James take a blanket off the back of the couch and cover up a sleeping Lily.

"Goodnight Lily. Sweet dreams," murmured James softly into Lily's hair. With that, he quietly left the common room and headed up to his room, unaware that Sirius and Andy had just seen what he did.

The two of them wore identical smirks as they bid each other goodnight and headed off to their rooms.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** It's all J.K. Rowling. I only own this story and the characters I made up.


	22. A Frightful Night

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Twenty-Two: A Frightful Night**

Lily sat in the Great Hall enjoying the silent peace that came on Sunday mornings. There were only a few students up already, each minding their own business. Including one Severus Snape, who was hunched over in his seat reading a very large and old black book.

'Probably another dark arts book thought Lily, as she poured herself some more juice.

As Lily sat back and enjoyed her morning juice, her mind began to wonder to what happened the previous night in the common room.

(The night before...)

"So tell me about the muggle world," said James.

"Well...what do you want to know?" replied Lily.

"Anything. I've never really been in the muggle world. Well except when I go to Diagon Alley sometimes, of course."

"Of course. So...you don't know anything about the muggle world at all?" asked Lily with a raised eyebrow. She couldn't believe that in the six years she has known him; he hadn't learned or heard about anything in the muggle world at all.

"Only a few things. Most of the stuff I know, I heard about from Robin, or Andy. They're always talking about different things like this band of bugs and stones rolling or something like that.

"Bugs? Stones rolling? What are you..." said Lily not sure what he was talking about. That was until she remembered who he was talking about. "Oh...You mean 'The Beatles' and 'The Rolling Stones'."

"Yeah, that's it."

"There music bands. Both are pretty good, although you might enjoy 'the Stones' more," chuckled Lily.

"And why is that?" asked James with a wicked grin.

"Well...because their type of music consists of loud music, where as the Beatles are more...well girlish in some people's opinion. They sing more ballads and up beat songs," said Lily.

"So? How do you know I don't like ballads?" replied James in a slightly hurt tone.

Lily raised one of her eyebrows to him. She could hardly believe that a sixteen year old athletic guy would be interested in pop ballads.

"Okay you got me," laughed James. "But still you shouldn't just assume things about people."

"I'll work on it," said Lily smugly. "So what else do you want to talk about? Muggle wise I mean?"

"Well...what do muggles do for fun?" said James.

"For fun? Well...lots of things. Muggles pretty much do the same things wizards do. I mean they read books, play sports, listen to music. But one thing muggles do that wizards don't do is watch movies."

"What are movies?"

"They're moving pictures that tell stories," answered Lily. She could see that James was a little confused so she went further into explanation. "Kind of like, wizard pictures only on a really long strip of material called a film strip."

"Wait...by any chance is there one of these movies called "The Exorcist" or something?" said James.

"Uhh...yeah. Yeah it's a movie. A horror movie. How did you know about that?"

"I heard Robin talking about it with Andy recently about scary things. You know with Halloween coming up soon."

"Yeah, it's one of the scariest movies ever made. Well in my opinion anyway," said Lily with a shiver.

"What's it about? Witches and goblins or something like that?" asked James.

"No. It's about this little girl that gets possessed by the devil and does all these really freaky things and kills people. Then this priest shows up and tries to drive out the demon through an exorcism," said Lily.

"Really? Doesn't sound all that bad."

Lily huffed at his comment. "You should see it. I bet you after you see it, your opinion will change."

"Sure. If you say so Lil. Alright...well this is very interesting. So what is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you?" said James all of a sudden.

"Too me?" asked Lily pointing a finger at herself. James simply nodded in response. "Well I don't know. No one has really ever asked me that question before."

Lily thought for a moment to contemplate his question.

"Well...I guess the scariest thing that has happened to me was finding out I was a witch. I mean I didn't really know why strange things happened around. Books that I wanted would randomly appear out of nowhere. Things in the house would explode when I would get upset at my sister. It freaked me out not knowing why I was causing these things to happen. Yeah. I guess that would be the scariest time for me. Although there was this one time I got chased by a dog for four blocks when I was about seven. That was pretty scary as well," chuckled Lily.

James couldn't help but chuckle as well. He could just picture a seven year old Lily running down a street being chased by a big massive that dog. Although for some weird reason, the dog in his vision looked a lot like his best mate.

"What about you? What's the scariest thing that has happened to you?" asked Lily.

Lily observed James sighing in what appeared to be despair.

"I was afraid you were going to ask me that," said James. He ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even more.

"Well...I guess what happened last year in the quarry was probably the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. Just, seeing her fall like that and what happened afterwards, that scared me half to death."

"You mean you were scared of getting kicked out?" said Lily a little confused.

"No. I was scared of losing one of my best friends, all because of me," said James seriously. He looked deep into Lily's eyes and she could see that the memory of it still haunts him to this day.

"I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't woken up. Or if something worse had happened to her."

"You really do care about her, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. She's probably the first girl that I ever really had as a friend. She's really the only one that doesn't really take any crap from me."

Lily nodded in silence understanding what he was talking about.

"Well...other than you," he added a few moments later, looking deep into her eyes. For some reason, the look in his eyes mesmerized her, and she couldn't help but stare deeply into them.

"Hey, Lily? Earth to Lily, come in Lily," said a voice far off in the distance.

"Huh? What?" said Lily dumbly as she finally saw someone waving their hand in front of her. She looked up and saw that the hand belongs to Felicia and that Andy and Kelly were standing next to her.

"Hello!" said Felicia.

"Geez Lily, where did you go? You looked like you were a million miles away," said Andy.

"No. No. I'm sorry, I'm here. I was just..." stalled Lily.

"You were just dreaming about a boy," said Kelly, in a matter of fact tone, as she sat down and reached for a muffin.

"I was not. I was just thinking about this new book I'm reading. That's all," said Lily.

"Right," said Felicia as she rolled her eyes.

"Sure Lil. We believe you," said Kelly, trying to contain a giggle.

Andy sat down and poured herself a glass of orange juice while trying to contain a smirk. She didn't know for sure, but she had a feeling that Lily was thinking about a boy. Just not the one that her other two friends were thinking about.

"What are you smirking for, Andy?" said Lily hotly.

"Nothing. Can't a girl just have a smirk on her face?" said Andy sweetly.

"Don't you start too," warned Lily.

Andy was about to add a snappy comeback when Karen and Remus walked over to were they were.

"Hey, gals! What's up?" said Karen brightly.

All four of the girls looked up and smiled at the couple before them... holding hands.

"Hey, Karen. There's nothing going on," said Kelly.

"Yeah. We're just teasing Lily as usual," said Felicia. Lily lightly smacked Felicia on the arm.

"So what's up with you two? What's going on with the whole..." said Andy waving a finger at Remus and Karen holding hands.

"Oh...well..."started Karen.

"We're sort of...well..."added Remus.

"Together?" asked Lily.

The couple before them couldn't help but blush and smile at the question.

"Well...yes. Remus just asked me to be his girlfriend this morning," said Karen.

"Oooohhh," said all four girls dreamily.

"That is so sweet," said Kelly.

"Congrats," added Andy.

"Thanks," chuckled Remus as he and Karen took a seat.

"Hey, Remus, what's that that you are wearing?" asked Kelly noticing something around his neck.

"What? This?" he said holding up the necklace around his neck. "Oh it's something my mother gave me when I was a kid. Suppose to bring good luck and protection...or something like that."

"Can we see it?" asked Felicia.

Remus nodded in response and took off his necklace before handing it over to Felicia. Lily leaned over and saw that it was a round gold like medallion. She noticed that on the medallion was a carving of a dog like creature howling at the moon.

"Wow! That's really neat Rem," said Lily.

"Thanks," smiled Remus as he put the necklace back on. At that moment, the rest of the Marauders came in laughing loudly as usual.

"Ahh...well I guess I should be going. I'll talk to you later?" he said turning toward Karen.

"Sure. I'll talk to you later," said Karen with her stars in her eyes.

With that, Remus got up and gave Karen a quick peck on the forehead before heading down the table to join his friends.

"Awwwwww," sighed Kelly and Felicia.

"Oh would you guys please shut up," blushed Karen.

"I'll talk to you guys later. I have to ask Professor Sprout a question," she added as saw her professor walking in for breakfast.

"She really is smitten with him. Isn't she?" said Kelly.

"Yup. Guess she is," said Andy.

A few moments passed by as the girls at there breakfast, before they were greeted by another.

"Good morning, ladies," said Sirius smoothly.

"Hey sweetie," said Felicia getting up to give Sirius a quick peck on the lips.

Andy tired her best to keep herself from rolling her eyes or gagging.

"And how is everyone this morning?" said Sirius looking particularly at Andy.

"Fine," answered Kelly.

"Alright," said Lily.

"I've had better mornings," said Andy. She was still looking a little tired, but at least she didn't have a hangover anymore, since she took some of that potion she made a few months ago.

"Well that's nice to here," he replied. "So Felicia, what did you want to do today?"

"Oh...I don't know. Maybe we could just hang out or, we could spend some quality time alone together," said Felicia as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Uh...please. People are trying to eat," said Andy disgustedly.

"I thought you were okay with us," said Felicia raising an eyebrow.

"I said I was okay with you two dating. I didn't say I was okay with seeing public displays of affection."

"Oh, what's a matter, Sparky? Can't find another flavor of the week?" said Sirius.

"Ha ha ha. As for your information, what I do in my personal life is none of your business Blackie," spat Andy.

"Okay that's enough. Come on, Sirius. Let's go before it gets too out of hand," said Felicia giving Andy a harsh look.

Andy simply just rolled her eyes and continued on eating her breakfast. She could feel Kelly and Lily's eyes on her.

"Don't you two even start," warned Andy.

"We weren't going to say a word," said Lily. At that moment she noticed Everett walking in and sitting down at his houses table.

"So how are things with Everett?" asked Andy noticing what her friend was looking at.

"They're fine. He actually asked me out the other day. He's wants to go out after the Halloween feast, on Friday," said Lily.

"Ooooohhhh...Halloween night. How romantic," said Kelly.

"He wants to take you out on Halloween? Hmmm...okay either he has something to tell you or he's trying to do something you don't want to do," said Andy.

"And what exactly it is that he wants to do that I don't want to do?" asked Lily.

"What every guy wants," said Andy raising both her eyebrows.

"Oh please Andy. This is Everett we're talking about," said Kelly.

"Yeah, that's true. But just remember to guard your carnal treasure," said Andy with a smirk.

Lily simply rolled her eyes and continued on eating her breakfast.

The week went by fairly well, save for a few pop quizzes and tests that the students had to endure. But by the end of the week, everyone was looking forward to the Halloween feast at the end of the week.

The feast was as spectacular as it had been in the past. There was a live band that came in to play, and Dumbledore conjured up a thousand bats that preformed a somewhat elegant dance in the air. All in all, went on without a hitch, until James and Sirius's little prank went off at the end of the feast. The two of them caused a monstrous hand to come out of the Slytherins goblets and pull their faces into them.

After the Marauder's prank, everyone headed off to their dorms, all except for a few people. Lily met up Everett at in the Great Hall, and the two of them ventured out onto the grounds covered in the moonlight of a full moon.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Lily?" asked Everett.

"Yes, I am," lied Lily. Although she enjoyed being with Everett, she couldn't help but have this feeling that they were being watched.

"You aren't scared are you?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Because you're sort of cutting off the circulation to my arm," said Everett. Lily wore a puzzled look on her face when she looked at him, until she noticed that she had a death grip on his arm as they walked arm and arm along the edge of the dark forest.

"Oh. I'm sorry," said Lily releasing her grip and looking at her feet.

"It's okay," chuckled Everett. "And trust me. There is nothing to be afraid of. All that talk that you've heard about what happens on the grounds at night is just talk. There are no such things as vampires or werewolves in there," he said added pointing to the forest.

"Yeah, you're right," giggled Lily. Just at that moment both of them heard a howling off in the distance. The howl caused the hairs on back of Lily's neck to stand up.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Probably a stray dog in Hogsmeade, or a regular old wolf," answered Everett.

"Right," sighed Lily. The two of them continued on walking along the forest enjoying each others presence.

"Ummm...Lily? There is a reason I asked you out here tonight," said Everett. Lily stopped in her tracks and looked at him directly in the eyes. She could see that Everett was obviously nervous about something.

"Well, I mean other wanting to spend time in your presence," he added quickly.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I umm...well...that is to say...I wanted to ask you something."

"What did you want to ask me?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would ever consider...being...my...girlfriend?" stuttered Everett as he fidgeted with his hands.

"That sounded lame, didn't it? Urgh...I knew I should have done the other one I practiced," he added. Lily continued to stare at him in amazement and shock as he continued to berate himself.

"You want me to be your girlfriend?"

"I know it's way to early. Forget I even said anything," said Everett quickly.

"No, no, no...I mean yes," said Lily quickly.

"Yes to what?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I'd like to be your girlfriend," said Lily with a bright smile.

"You would?" said Everett with wide eyes. Lily nodded vigorously as her smile got wider.

"Wow! Oh, Lily you don't know what this means to me," beamed Everett as he looked deeply into her eyes.

The two of them stood there looking at each other lost in each other eyes, while they unconsciously leaned toward each other. They were soon only a breath away from each other until Everett closed the gap with his lips, in a soft sweet kiss. Whey they pulled apart, Everett took a hold of Lily's hand and they continued on walking. Lily continued to grin after the kiss, but deep down she really didn't feel anything along the lines of what her other friends describe kissing their boyfriends. But of course she would never admit this.

As time went by, the two of them continued to hear the howls of some animal. Each time they seemed to be growing closer.

"Ummm...Everett...I think we should be heading back. It's getting kind of late," said Lily on the verge of freaking out.

"Yeah, maybe you're right," agreed Everett, starting to feel afraid as well.

As the two of them began to turn back around, and head back up to the school, they heard a rustle in the forest.

"What was that? Everett something's in there," whispered Lily as she clung to his arm.

"I don't know. Come on let's go before ," stuttered Everett.

Lily heard his stutters and saw his face turn white as a ghost. It wasn't until she heard a low growl that caused her to see what had frightened her new boyfriend. Standing in front of them was a grey and black werewolf with bright yellow eyes.

"Everett! Everett we need to get out of here!" squeaked Lily. She continued to stare wide eyed at the beast in front of her.

"Everett?" she said as she looked up at her boyfriend. As soon as she shook him, he passed out from complete fright.

Lily stood stunned looking at her passed out boyfriend, but was brought back to reality when the wolf let out a long howl. She snapped her head back to the wolf and just stared at its eyes. There was something familiar about them she thought. As she moved her eyes along the wolf, she noticed the distinctive snout of the werewolf, along with the ears and coloring. But it was something hanging around the creature's neck that grabbed her attention. From the looks of it, it was as if the werewolf was wearing some sort of charm on a collar or necklace.

'Where have I seen that charm before?'

As she pondered a bit more, she stared into its eyes again, and for a moment or two, she saw some form of joy and friendliness that was all too familiar to her.

Sensing that the girl was on to his identity, the werewolf's eyes turned harsh again and barred his teeth at her. Lily could tell the wolf was ready to attack and began to run for her life.

"OH CRAP!"

"Of all nights to patrol, why did it have to be Halloween night?" whined Andy to herself. She was currently walking down a deserted dark corridor, doing her nightly patrol that she had been assigned to do.

"Poor souls don't even have a chance if they even try and think about doing something. I'm not really in the mood to deal with want-to-be Marauders. Man why did I agree to cover tonight. I could be hanging out with Derrick, and those bright blue eyes of his," sighed Andy. Just thinking about her new little crush made her feel all warm and tingly inside. "Oh well."

She continued to walk around the castle checking out the third and fourth floors, making sure that no one was causing too much trouble that she would have to actually punish them.

"This is stupid. There is no one out tonight!" said a frustrated Andy into the night. "Hmmm...maybe I should go hang out with Derrick. At least that will be more entertaining than hanging out with the loser."

As Andy headed back down the hallway to the staircase, she saw someone come out from behind a nearby painting. It was Severus.

'_Speak of the devil_,' thought Andy.

"And just what do you thing _you_ are doing?" said Severus smugly to his co-prefect this evening.

"What's it to you? Last time I checked you weren't my father, or my mother, or a professor."

"But I'm a prefect on duty," said Severus. Andy knew all he was trying to do was get a rise out of her, just so he could attack and claim self defense.

"Yeah so am I. What do you want? A cookie or something?" said Andy highly annoyed with him. Her patience was wearing down fast.

"No, but it's my job to know what others are doing. You know, to make sure that they aren't causing any trouble among the students."

"Yeah, _other _students, not other prefects. Now if you'll excuse me Snivellus, I need to be somewhere other than here with you," spat Andy.

"Oh, going to corrupt whatever flavor of the week you have now?"

"Excuse me?" said Andy highly offend by the tone in his voice. "That is none of your business."

"You know, I think spending so much time with Potter and this little gang has confused you your mind," said Severus as he leaned up against the wall cockily.

"Oh, really? And has being friends with James confused me?" said Andy crossing her arms in front of her.

"Well, the way you act, and going about dating guys, you'd think you were a player or something. But when in reality, you are nothing but a whore."

"Oooohhh...tell me you did not just call me what I think you did? Oh, those are mighty big words for someone who doesn't have any of his little friends to come and help him out," said Andy feeling her temper rising up.

"Are you threatening me, Starmenter?" said Severus with a crooked smile.

"I don't make threats Snivellus. Threats are made by Slytherins who have way to much time on there hands. I on the other hand make promises, which are always kept true, sooner or later," said Andy. She could see Severus's hand inside his pocket, apparently holding tightly to wand, ready to bring in out in a flash. Although it was true that Severus was good at the Defense Against the Dark Arts, he wasn't as good as a few other students in his year.

"Well if you are going to do, something, I suggest you do it now. I'll allow you one chance. Seeing as how you take at least three tries to get your aim right," patronized the greasy haired Slytherin.

If there was one thing that Andy hated above all else (other than being teased and harassed by Sirius), it was being patronized by stuck up Slytherins. She was about to pull out her wand, and hex him into the middle of next week, until something outside caught her eye.

A red haired girl was running through the foggy grounds being chased by a large dog like creature.

"What the...? Oh, no. LILY!" screamed Andy. With that she bolted down the stairs praying she got to her friend in time.

Lily ran as fast as she could toward the castle, but she knew that the werewolf was right behind her and gaining speed.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" she screamed. Suddenly an idea popped in her head, and she struggled to pull out her wand while running. Lily shouted out a number of curses and hexes, hoping to slow down the beast, but it seemed to doge every curse.

As she got nearer to the castle, she tripped over an uneven level of earth and fell to the ground face forward.

"Ow," groaned Lily as she hit her head. She rolled over on her back and saw that the werewolf was now a few yards away, growling, and ready to pounce on her. Lily closed her eyes tightly bracing herself for the end, when she saw the wolf beginning to charge at her.

'This is it! This is how I'm going to die. Death by werewolf,' thought Lily, but her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of something big galloping and whinnying.

Lily dared to open eye, and saw through the fog, a large creature with antlers having a stand off with the werewolf. The werewolf began to charge at Lily again, but the dark creature used it's antlers to toss the wolf back. A few moments later, a large, black, shaggy haired creature came barreling out of the woods and grabbed the wolf with its teeth by the tail as it tried to get back up. The two dog-like creatures began fighting and barking at each other, until the creature somehow managed to pull the werewolf back into the woods.

Lily just sat there stunned and breathing harshly at what she witnessed. She was snapped out of her state of shock when the creature that saved her came trotting up toward her. She couldn't really tell what the being was, because of the fog. Yet the thing that captivated her the most wasn't its size or strength, but its eyes. She felt her self loose her bearings as she stared into the hazel like eyes of the creature. Lily wasn't sure, but she felt that she had seen those eyes before.

The creature took another step forward and took an unmistakable bow at Lily's feet. The deer like creature raised it's head a bit to look into Lily's bright green eyes. Suddenly the two of them heard howling in the distance and sounds of pain. The creature looked toward the forest and back at Lily again. He gave a shake of his head along with a snort like sound as a sign of apology before it ran off again into the forest.

Lily continued to sit on the ground watching the creature gallop away into the night.

"LILY! LILY ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" screamed Andy as she reached where her friend was. By the time she got there, she saw that wolf had left and her friend was sitting upright on the ground.

Andy shook Lily a couple of times to bring her out of her trance but to no avail. "Lily come on snap out of it!" Seeing no other choice, Andy did something that she knew she'd hear about it later. "Sorry Lil, but this is for your own good."

With that, Andy took her hand and slapped it across Lily's face not too harshly, bringing her back to reality.

"Huh? What? Andy? What happened? W-where am I? D-Did you just slap me?" asked a bewildered Lily.

"You can yell at me later. What happened to you? I saw you running from the window being chased by...whatever that thing was..." said Andy trying to calm down her friend.

Lily blinked a few times and was hit with the memory of what had just transpired. "Werewolf."

"Huh? What did you say?" said Andy not sure if she heard correctly.

"It was a werewolf. A werewolf was chasing me," breathed Lily.

"A werewolf? Are you sure?" asked Andy not really believing what she was saying.

"What's going on here?" said a new voice out from behind Lily. It was Professor McGonagall. Following her was Professor Flitwick, and Snape.

"Miss Evans? What are you doing out here at this hour?" asked McGonagall. Her lips were now a very thin line on her face.

"Professor she said that a werewolf was chasing her," said Andy, more concerned about Lily then McGonagall's lectures.

The moment Andy had said this, both McGonagall and Flitwick looked at each other with worried looks on there faces.

"Are you sure my dear?" asked Flitwick to Lily.

"Yes, it came out of nowhere and scared Everett and I half to death," nodded Lily.

"Where is he now, Ms. Evans?" asked McGonagall referring to Everett.

"He passed out over there, I think he's still unconscious," breathed Lily.

"Very well then, Professor Flitwick and I will go and retrieve him. But as for you, Ms. Evans I would like you to go to the hospital wing and get checked out. Are you able to walk?" said McGonagall sternly. All three students could see that McGonagall was obviously worried for everyone's safety.

"Yes I think so," nodded Lily.

"Good. Ms. Starmenter I would ask that you help her up to the hospital wing." Andy nodded in response.

"I'll go with you Professor," piped up Snape.

"No! You will return to the castle with Ms. Evans and Ms. Starmenter, and wait for me by the doors inside," said McGonagall in a tone that didn't need to be argued.

As Andy helped her friend up, Lily saw something bright shinning in the grass. It was the charm that she saw on the werewolf. She quickly grabbed it up and put it into her pocket as she leaned on her friend for support.

Within a few minutes, Lily and Andy had reached the hospital wing, and were waiting to hear about Everett. Madam Pomfrey quickly did an examination on Lily and decided she was fine, save for a few bumps and bruises, and a sore ankle, but just to make sure, Lily would stay the night in the hospital wing just for observation.

She handed Lily a pair of pajamas and left the room along with Andy to allow Lily some privacy. As soon as she finished buttoning up her shirt, McGonagall and Flitwick came in with Everett who was coming too now.

"WEREWOLF! WEREWOLF!" screamed Everett out of fright. Madam Pomfrey gave him a sleeping potion in order to calm him down and allow her the chance to check him over. After everything was settled, and in order, Madam Pomfrey allowed Andy the chance to see her friend, but only for a few moments.

"Lily are you okay?" asked Andy.

"I think so. I'm still a little shaken up, though," said Lily.

"What were you thinking of being out at night on the grounds with Everett? That's not like you Lil. That's sounds like something...well _I_ would do."

"Yes I know. But there's something that I have to tell you though," said Lily.

"What is it?"

"I think I know the werewolf."

"You hang out with a lot of werewolves, Lil?" said Andy trying to lighten up the mood.

"No," said Lily sternly. "What I mean is I think I know who the person is that turns into the werewolf," she said in low whisper.

"How?"

"Well I saw this charm around it's neck, and then right before we came in, I saw it laying on the ground. Look familiar?" said Lily as she pulled out the necklace from under her blanket and handed it over to Andy.

Andy took the gold charm and black cord and inspected it. "This is Remus's necklace. The one his mom gave him. So?" said Andy not really getting what her friend was getting at.

Lily raised her eyebrows and gave her friend a look that told her to think about it.

"Wait a minute..." said Andy as she caught on. "You think that Remus is a...werewolf?"

Lily nodded in response.

"Remus? Remus Lupin? Guy about this tall with sandy hair? Really nice guy that hangs out with a bunch of Quidditch junkies? Our friend Karen's new boyfriend Remus Lupin?" said Andy in disbelief.

"Yes that Remus. How many other Remus's do we know?"

"But...no...Rem can't be a werewolf. He's too nice to be one."

"Just because he's a nice guy doesn't mean he can't be one. Come on think about it. He's always looks sick every couple of weeks. He's always making some sort of excuse for why he's so tired or so sick. And he's also gone at least one a month, and I bet you if we look back it's always around the time of a full moon."

"Oh my..." whispered Andy as she thought about and saw that everything did add up correctly. "Rem's a werewolf. Boy Karen can sure pick 'em."

"Andy come on. This is no time to joke," said Lily.

"Who said I was? It's just hard to believe that our friend Remus is a werewolf," stated Andy.

"Yeah I know."

"And to think that he could have..." said Andy. "Man, if he did, it would have killed him."

"I don't want to even think about it."

"Okay. Yeah sure of course. But I have one question. If Remus was after you, and chased you down...why didn't he...you know...have you for a snack?"

"Well, he would have, had it not been for that deer or whatever it was."

"Excuse me?"

"This creature, animal...I don't know...this thing came out of nowhere and fought off Remus and was trying to protect me. Then this black dog came running out of the forest and pulled Remus back into the trees."

"Really?"

"Yeah...but there was something familiar about that creature. It's like I've seen it before. Like in a dream or something of that sort. But those eyes," said Lily in a dreamy like tone.

"Geez, Lil...I didn't know you felt so fondly to forest creatures," teased Andy.

"Oh stop it," blushed Lily.

"Okay Ms. Starmenter, that's enough now. You can see Ms. Evans in the morning when she is released," said Madam Pomfrey.

Andy bid good-night to her friend, and left the hospital wing to head off to bed, with her thoughts still swimming.

'_Whoa, Remus a werewolf. Well it does add all up. Just never thought he would be the tear you to pieces and eat your heart type of guy. But apparently he's made some friends in the forest. At least that should keep him in check.'_

As Andy neared her dorm, she thought more about the subject of the creatures that came and saved her friend. _Remus's friends_.

'Nah, it couldn't be. They wouldn't be that stupid,' thought Andy as an idea popped into her head. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

She remember that a few years back, James and Peter coming to her asking to borrow books she had about transfiguration she had in hopes that she could better understand it. She also remembered James asking help in pronunciations of certain words dealing with animals. Then she also thought about how recently, the boys seem to disappear at least once a month for an entire night.

She remembered going to their room to return a broom polish to James, and finding the room completely empty at eleven o'clock at night. She noticed them sneaking out a couple of times already this year underneath James cloak. And it did always seem to happen around the time Remus made his monthly disappearance.

"Those little buggers," said Andy in amazement as she walked through the porthole into the common room.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing except this story and the characters I made up. The rest belongs to J.K. Rowling.


	23. Another Secret Known

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter 23: Another Secret Known**

"James, would you relax. No one knows alright!" said Sirius. He noticed that his best friend was staring off into space at the breakfast table the next morning.

"Yeah, but still, what if…" whispered James looking directly at Sirius.

"Relax, Prongs. No one knows and no one is going to know," said Sirius in a low voice. He checked over his shoulder to make sure that no one heard him, especially Snivellus. Even though he was almost two tables over, Sirius didn't trust him not find someway to hear what they were talking about.

"Besides," he started again, looking at James. "Remus is fine, and Lily is safe thanks to a certain someone," he finished while wiggling his eyebrows.

"Yeah but still, that was a close call even by our standards," replied James. Ever since it happened, James could still see the frightened look on her face. But what plagued him more was the thought of what could have happened had he not gotten there in time.

"True," remarked Sirius nodding his head. "But boy was it a rush."

"Definitely!" squeaked Peter.

"Oh what would you know Wormtail? You stayed under a leaf in the woods during the whole thing," stated Sirius before he dug into his food.

Peter couldn't help but turn a shade of pink as he went back to eating his breakfast. James on the other hand continued to replay the previous evening's events in his head as he scratched the back of his head, rumpling up his hair even more. A few moments later, the three friends saw Remus coming in looking very tired.

"Morning mates," croaked Remus as he took his seat. He now had a few small scratches on his face, as well as along his arms. But what really stuck out was the fact that he looked like he had two black eyes from his lack of sleep.

"Morning," said all three of them.

"How are you feeling there, mate?" asked James.

"I've had better mornings. Some night, huh?" he replied with a weak smile.

"Do you remember what happened?" asked Sirius cautiously.

"Not really. Just that the three of us got into it," said Remus, not sure what they were getting at.

"You don't remember anything specifically?" asked Peter quietly.

"No. Well…there's one thing I do remember," he said replaying the memory in his head.

"I remember Sirius pulling me by the tail back into the forest and us getting into a row. But other than that…no, nothing," he said as he scratched the back of his neck. As he did it, he noticed that his necklace was missing.

'_Crap, I must have lost it last night.'_

He decided that after breakfast, he was going to go and find a locator spell that would tell him where his safety charm was. As he began to pile some food onto his plate, he noticed that all three of his friends continued to stare at him.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that? What is it?" he inquired. It wasn't until he noticed James and Sirius giving each other a silent look that he understood why they were act the way they were. They had done the same thing a year ago when he had somehow found his way into the busy streets of Hogsmeade.

"D-did something happen last night?"

At that moment, Lily, Andy, and Karen walked into the Great Hall. Remus noticed the three in front of him watching the girls walk in. They each wore a worried and knowing look that Remus hated. He hated not being in the loop and not knowing what was going on around him, especially when it concerned himself.

"Guys what exactly did happen last night?" said Remus in frustration. "Did I…I didn't…run into anyone last night…did I?"

"Well…you sort of did," said Peter quietly.

Sirius slapped Peter in the arm, while James watched Remus's face turn from frustration to worry.

"But don't worry," said James quickly. "No one got hurt and now knows it was you last night."

Remus gave a visible sigh of relief when he heard the news. "Well that's good to know.

Yeah, but I wouldn't say "no one" got hurt last night there Prongs. Moony here got a couple of good claw marks on me. When was the last time you trimmed those things down, mate?" joked Sirius.

James and Remus couldn't help but roll there eyes at their friends remark.

"Trust us, Rem. Nobody knows. The secret is still safe," said James.

"Good. Just out of curiosity, who was it that I met up with last night?" asked Remus.

"Evans and her boyfriend," said James coldly. "They were out taking a moonlit walk."

"Oh! Oh," said Remus softly. He knew how hurt James must feel deep down to see the girl he likes with another guy. It was a feeling he was use to when he saw Karen with another guy. But also having one of your best friends being the one to attack her was also a feeling he knew he was going through. "Sorry mate."

"What do you have to be sorry about? You couldn't help it!" said James, knowing what else Remus had implied.

At that moment the post arrived as hundreds of owls flew around the room finding their recipients. A few owls flew over where the Marauders were sitting and dropped off a few letter and packages from home. Sirius noticed one of the school owls dropping a letter addressed to him. Upon opening it, he found there was only a small piece of parchment with in and held no signature.

_11:00 tonight. You know where._

_P,S, Don't be late…or else!_

Sirius was slightly puzzled at the note until he recognized the handwriting. He couldn't help but smirk at the idea of her trying to do something. 'Yeah right, princess.'

"What have you got there, hon?" said a voice from behind him. It was Felicia.

"Oh. Hi, Felicia. Uh, it's nothing. Just a letter from a friend is all," said Sirius as he tucked the letter into his robes.

"Oh? Who?" she inquired as she took a seat next to him.

"Uh…Braden. Yeah, he just wanted know what was going on with everything. How the team is. You know, guy stuff," he lied.

"Ah, I see. So what have you got planned tonight? I've missed not spending time with you," said Felicia sweetly.

"Ummm…nothing really. Just homework," said Sirius with a shrug.

"Do you want to do it together," said Felicia hopefully.

"Ummm…yeah. I guess," replied Sirius not sure why she was acting the way she was.

"Sirius is there something wrong?"

"Wrong? Why would there be anything wrong?"

"Because I've hardly talk to you all week! Is there something I did?"

"No. You didn't do anything. I've just been busy, is all. Marauder business," said Sirius simply.

"Are you sure? Because if I said or did something…"

"You didn't do anything. That's all that's going on. Tell you what, how about I meet up with you in the common room at seven o'clock and we can do whatever you want," said Sirius taking her hand.

He saw glint form in her eyes as a grin started to form on her lips. "Sounds like a date to me. See you at seven, love."

With that, she gave him a quick peck on the check and then headed off down the table to where her friends were sitting.

"What was that all about?" asked James.

"Don't really know. You know how girls get," said Sirius.

* * *

"Well if it isn't the girlfriend of Sirius Black. How wonderful of you to grace us with your presence. We are truly honored," said Andy dramatically, as she bowed her head and placed her hand over her heart.

Felicia just simply rolled her eyes as she took a seat next to Kelly.

"Give it a rest, Miranda," said Felicia coldly.

"I'm only kidding," replied Andy she poured herself a glass of juice.

"Whatever. Hey Lily, how are you doing?" asked Felicia with deep concern.

"Oh, I'm fine. I'm still a little bit shaken up. But other than that I'm fine," said Lily with a shrug.

"Merlin Lily, if had been me, I'd probably wet myself. I can't even imagine what you must have went through and what you are going through now," said Kelly.

'Yeah, if you guys only knew', thought Lily.

"Guys really, I'm fine. There is nothing to really talk about."

"I'd just like to know, what cause that werewolf to not finish you off?" said Felicia.

"I really don't know. It was way to dark and foggy out last night. The only thing I can remember was seeing these large creatures coming and pulling the wolf back into the woods," stated Lily.

"Wonder what kind of creatures?" said Kelly to no one in particular.

'More like who those creatures really were,' thought Andy as she glanced down at the table at the four boys.

"Well I'm just glad you're safe and perfectly fine," said Andy.

"I'll second that," said Felicia.

"Thanks guys," said Lily with a warm smile. As she said this, she noticed Everett walking in. When he walked in, their eyes locked for a moment. But instead of coming over to say 'hi', he instead quickly gazed down at the floor and trotted over to his table. Lily watched him walk away feeling a little hurt.

"Don't worry about it, Lil. He's ego got seriously burned last night. Give him some time. He'll come around," said Andy with a smirk.

"Yeah, I guess. I just hope you're right, about him coming around," said Lily cautiously.

"He will. Trust me," said Andy trying to lend support to her friend. _'And if he doesn't, then it'll be easier to get you with James.'_

* * *

That evening around eight o'clock, Andy and Lily found themselves in the common room alone, contemplating on how they should confront Remus. They decided that they should tell him that they know about his identity as soon as they saw him. Now they only problem was how exactly do they tell him?

"Do you think we should tell Karen?" asked Lily as she paced back and forth in front of the fireplace.

"And have her freak out? Are you crazy?" exasperated Andy from her seat on the arm of the couch.

"Okay. Bad idea," said Lily. "So then what do you think we should do?"

"Got me," said Andy with a shrug.

"Maybe we should tell Remus that we found some kid with the necklace."

"We could," said Andy thoughtfully. "And then we can have him fret over thinking that someone else has figured out his little secret. And then we can have him wondering when he should pack up his things. Or better yet we can just tell him that Snivellus had it."

"Oh come on, Severus wouldn't do something like that."

"Lil, who is Remus friends with?"

"Potter and Blackie."

"Yeah, okay, and just who does Snape hate more than anything on this planet?"

"Good point," said Lily having a momentary blond moment.

"I think you were right before," sighed Andy. "We should just tell Rem that we know and let the chip lay where they lay and not try to sugar coat anything."

"Tell me what?" said a voice coming from the entrance way. Both girls jumped at the sound of Remus's voice.

"Remus!" squeaked Andy. "Hi! Uh…how's it going?"

"Uh yeah," said Lily awkwardly. "How are you feeling? You're not sick or anything, are you? I mean you still look a little pale."

"Yeah, you look like you've had a couple of dog nights," said Andy, as she silently cursed herself for opening her mouth.

"Uh…no…I'm fine," said Remus not sure what was up with the two girls in front of him. "Just a little tired is all. What did you have to tell me?"

"What do you mean?" said Andy trying to play dumb.

"Well…when I walked in I sort of overheard you saying that you should tell me something you knew and just 'let the chips lay where they lay and not try to sugar coat anything.' So what is it?"

"Uh…well…see…the thing is…Andy?" stuttered Lily.

"Well what Lily is trying to say is that…um…okay…you know how certain people…well all people have there own personal secrets?" said Andy unsure of where she was going with this.

"Uh huh?' nodded Remus.

"Right well, occasionally…sometimes, other people find out about other's secrets…totally on accident of course."

"Yeah. So what's the point of this Andy?" asked Remus.

"Well the one that had the secret shouldn't really be mad or worried that another found out about the secret, if they were a friend, right?" said Andy with worried smile.

"Yeah, I suppose. Look guys, whatever you have to say, just say it, alright. I promise I won't get mad. You can trust me. Besides I don't really don't have anything to hide," said Remus. He really wanted end this conversation with the two girls before him, so he could go upstairs and catch up on some sleep.

"Eh, well you might want to rethink that, Remus," said Andy scratching the back of her head.

"Why's that?"

"Remus…we know," said Lily simply.

"Know what?"

"About where you go each month, or whenever there is a full moon," said Lily in the same calm tone.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," stuttered Remus. Lily and Andy looked at each other and knew that Remus wouldn't be willing to tell the truth. Besides, who can blame him? Andy nodded to Lily silently telling her to bring out the necklace.

Lily slowly pulled out the necklace from her pocket, and handed it over to a wide eye Remus.

"Where did you find this?" breathed Remus.

"The other night when a werewolf…when 'you' came after me," said Lily timidly.

Remus's heart began to pound in his chest as he breathes quickened. He suddenly felt the need get away as soon as possible.

"Oh crap," he sighed as he began to head toward the stairs.

"Remus? Remus wait!" called out Lily.

"I have to go," he said quickly.

"Remus, stop! We just want to talk," said Andy.

"Remus please don't go," said Lily as she and Andy chased after him. But he didn't stop at their pleas, as he kept on heading toward the staircase.

"Petrificus Totalus!" shouted Andy with her wand pointed directly at Remus as his body locked together, which caused him to fall to the ground.

"Andy!" exclaimed Lily.

"What? Did you have a better idea as to stop him?" said Andy. She walked over to where he was laying and began to pick him up.

"Help me out here," ordered Andy. The two girls then struggled to lift Remus up and moved him into a nearby chair.

"Okay let him up," sighed Lily as she tried to catch her breath.

"Right and have him try to run again?" gasped Andy. Lily shot her a warning look that told her that she had better do it or else.

"Oh, alright. But Rem, just so you know I'm not putting this thing away until you listen. Got it?" said Andy as she pointed her wand at the frozen Remus.

With that said, Andy muttered the counter curse and Remus returned to his normal state.

"W-what do you want from me?" inquired Remus.

"We just want to talk. That's all," said Lily quietly looking directly into his eyes.

"Why? So you can make fun of me? Call me a monster or a freak?"

"Now why would we do a thing like that?" said Andy. "Rem, I've known you for five years. You are one of the sweetest, kindest people I've ever met. If anyone should be called a monster it's the pair of losers you spend your time with."

"You're friends with them as well," chuckled Remus.

"Only one of them," Andy shot back.

"I think you should reconsider that whole kind part," joked Lily.

"Yeah, really," said Andy as she rolled her eyes.

"So…how did you guys figure it out?" said Remus suddenly.

"The necklace mostly. Then we realized that you disappear around the night of a full moon," said Lily.

"Plus, we remembered some of the things we learned in class. So when we put it all together…" trailed off Andy.

"Well I guess you won't want to spend any more time around me, and you'll tell Karen of course," said Remus thinking the worse.

"Remus, why would we do a thing like that?" asked Lily. "Of course we're still going to talk to you and spend time with you."

"Yeah," agreed Andy. "Just not when you're all hairy and wanting to rip out our hearts and try to eat us."

Remus hung his head in shame, at what Andy had said. He knew she was just joking and trying to cheer him up, but it still hurt.

"Remus I'm kidding," said Andy seeing him turn away. She sighed in frustration over the fact that he was doubting them.

"Look alright you want to hear it? You want to hear how terrible and how scared we are? Fine here it is. 'Oh my gods, I can't believe you are a werewolf'," said Andy with a monotone. "Oh, the horror and humanity. Help. Help. My best friend's boyfriend is a night hunting monster. Oh I hate you and I never want to speak to you again.' There. Are you happy now?" asked Andy with some attitude. "Can I say what I really want to say now and not what you want to hear?"

"I'm not sure," chuckled Remus. "Will it be as drone out as your last one?"

"Mmmm…probably. Who knows?"

"Fine," he nodded.

"Rem, we care about you too much to call you a freak or a monster. So you're a werewolf…big deal! That doesn't change who you are. In my eyes and in Lil's here, you're still the same old Remus to us. It's just now we know the big mystery of 'why is Remus Lupin always sick and leaving'."

"Thanks, gals. So I guess you guys might want to hear what happened to me? How I became what I am today?"

"Only if you want to," said Lily. So Remus told them of about the night he got lost in the woods and how he got bit.

"Wow! That's just…wow," said Andy in completely shock.

"Remus I'm…I'm so sorry you had to go through that at such a young age," said Lily.

"Yeah, I know. But this really means a lot to me that you gals understand and aren't freaked out about it. Just…can you two promise me something?" asked Remus timidly

"Sure," said Andy quickly.

"Absolutely," replied Lily.

"Promise me you won't tell Karen. I'd like to do that when the time is right," he pleaded.

"Of course," said both girls at the same time.

"Thank you," he said with a wide smile.

At that moment the clock chimed that it was quarter to nine.

"Well I guess I should go and get some things done before I have to go on duty later." With that he started to head up the stairs again without the girls trying to stop him. As he got up a few steps, he heard someone running up to catch him.

"Remus wait!" called out Lily.

He turned around on the steps to look at the red haired witch before him. "Yes, Lily. What is it?"

"I just wanted to let you know that if you ever need anyone to talk to, anyone at all, I'd be more than happy to lend an ear."

"Thanks, Lily. That means a lot to me," he said with a bright smile. With that, he bowed good-bye and headed up the stairs to his room.

* * *

As eleven o'clock neared, Sirius was seen running up a flight of stairs trying to get to the Astronomy tower on time for once. When he agreed to spend time with Felicia he had no idea what he was in for, once he met up with her in the common room.

'Oh…why did I leave her to go and meet up with someone I can't stand?' he pondered as he took a short cut through a nearby painting.

'_Because if you don't go, she'll end up hating you even more and you'll never hear the end of it. And also because you want to see her and what she has to say.'_

'She probably wants to talk about one of the projects. Oh why did I have to get involved with that girl? It's not like I don't have enough drama in my life already.'

When he finally reached the bottom of the staircase that lead up to the top of the tower, he heard the clock begin to chime eleven. He began to run up the stairs trying to beat the clock's chimes. When he was about ten steps away from the roof, the last chime rang through the grounds.

"I'm here," breathed Sirius trying to catch his breath. Andy was once had her back to him, looking out into the night.

"You're late," sighed Andy.

"Only by a couple of seconds, but I'm here. So what did you want to talk about?" said Sirius as he lend next to the stone wall.

"Nothing really," said Andy lazily as she turned to look at him. "I just feel that we still need to get to know each other a bit more. You know, learn more about each other's inner beasts."

"Why? What is that going to accomplish?" said Sirius with a quizzical expression.

"Well…we still need to figure out how Lil and Jay should get over their petty differences. So I was thinking if we figured out how to get over our differences, then we can apply it to the two of them. Plus we still have that assignment from McGonagall to do," stated Andy.

"Alright, a valid point. So…what exactly do you want to know?"

"Well…" said Andy with a mischievous look on her face. "I was figuring we could start off small, like how was your day?"

"Uh…fine," said Sirius a little unsure. For some reason, he had this feeling in the pit of his stomach that she was up to something. It's just he wasn't sure what exactly it was. "A little interesting in some moments, but other than that, my day was pretty much like any other day. You?"

"About the same as yours. I mostly spent the day talking to Lil about what happened to her last night," said Andy simply.

"Yeah, I heard about that. How's she doing, by the way?" he asked in a concern tone.

"She's fine. Still a little shaken up though, and is a little upset because Everett won't talk to her. I guess he feels like a sissy for passing out like that. Guess he's not the big protector he tries to be in front of her," chuckled Andy.

"Hayes is nothing but a show off and a snob. And she has the nerve to call Prongs one? Ha, that's a laugh. I still don't know what she sees in him," said Sirius shaking his head.

"Some might say the same thing about you being a snob, and why Felicia is with you," said Andy.

"Point taken," he replied seeing where she was coming from. "So when did you find out about what happened to her and Hayes?"

"Last night. I saw her being chased after that werewolf," said Andy. Suddenly an idea popped into her head, as to how she could get him to drop the whole act he's been putting on for nearly a year and a half now.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," said Andy nodding her head. "It's hard to believe that such a dangerous animal would be out free to roam the grounds once a month. You'd think Dumbledore would put up some form of precaution around the grounds to keep that beast away from the school night and day."

"What are you saying?" inquired Sirius as his head shot up to look directly into her eyes.

"I'm saying that who ever that werewolf really is shouldn't even be within a hundred miles of the school, or for anyone for that matter. He or she should be ashamed for allowing themselves to get bit by a werewolf," said Andy darkly with a serious look on her face. Inside how ever, she was laughing hysterically at watching the look on Sirius's face change from anger to passive. She knew that he was trying to keep his temper in check, and she didn't blame him. She would have done the same thing if someone was speaking to her like how she is to him now.

"Well what if it was an accident? What if he…or she…got lost in the woods one night and accidentally got himself bit," he said trying to keep his temper under control.

"Himself?" said Andy with a raised eyebrow.

"Or herself," said Sirius trying to play if off.

"That is a highly unlikely story. But hey who knows…maybe the poor bloke deserves to go through that transformation once a month," she said with a slight grin playing in the corner of her mouth.

At this point, Sirius had had enough of Andy's stuck up attitude and was going to set her straight.

"Alright look here, Sparky. Not everyone should be punished for some stupid act that they had no control over, like getting themselves bit when they were a kid. And further more, who in the bloody hell do you think you are berating someone when you have committed worse acts then trying to attack someone when you have no control over it! I think you need to get your priorities straight. You know not all people who happen to be werewolves are bad when they are in their normal form."

"You mean someone like Remus?" asked Andy simply.

"Yes someone like Rem…what did you say?" said Sirius as his eyes began to bulge out.

"I said someone like Remus Lupin," said Andy.

"W-why would you say Remus…"said a shell shocked Sirius.

"Blackie…I know," she said closing the gap between them

"You know?"

"Yeah, I know about _everything_," said Andy looking directly into his grey eyes.

"H-how do you know?" whispered Sirius.

"Lily found his necklace out on the grounds, where the wolf was. Or I should say where Remus was," she said smoothly.

"Does she know?"

"Yes, and Remus knows that we know," said Andy with a smile.

"Moony knows!"

"Mmmhmm…we told him a couple of hours ago. He's alright with it. We only had to promise not to tell Karen about what happens to him."

"So…you know the whole story about what happened?"

Andy nodded her head in response. "And when I said I knew everything, I mean I know _everything_. Including the part of the three friends going with him each night of his transformation."

"Whoa…whoa…whoa… wait a minute. You mean you know about…"trailed Sirius.

:"Yeah, I know about that too. But that's just me. Lily doesn't know that part. You are the only one I've told," said Andy looking down at her feet for a moment.

"So…you know about everything?" asked Sirius as he took a seat on the edge of the tower.

"Yeah I think I already said that. I only have one…well…two things to say."

"Which are?"

"Well the first is...ARE ALL THREE OF YOU COMPLETELY NUTS! What the _hell_ were you thinking of pulling a stunt like that? Do you have any idea what would've happened if someone in authority found out? You lot would be thrown in jail!"

"It was the only thing we could think of that would help Moony and keep us safe as well," said Sirius trying to make her understand.

"But still, what you three are doing is extremely dangerous. What if something happens?" said Andy in a worried tone.

"Nothing is going to happen," said Sirius looking directly into her eyes. "Besides…why do you care so much?"

"Because I don't want to see anything bad happening to you…or Jay…or Peter, for that matter," said Andy as she turned away from him.

"Hey. It's fine. None of us are going to get caught, and we can handle whatever is thrown at us. So you can rest easy," said Sirius as he put his hand on Andy's shoulder. She turned around and looked him in the eyes, and couldn't help but believe him.

"Now what do want to do about our little projects?" he said after a moment of awkward moment of silence.

"Well I think for the one that can possibly kill either one of us, I think we should just leave alone for right now. Just to see where it's going right now. As for the other one, I think we need to start cracking on it tomorrow or else we will get killed by McGonagall."

"Sounds like a plan then. Just out of curiosity what was the second thing?" said Sirius.

"Just that I think that it's really sweet what you three are doing for him," said Andy.

"Oh, okay," said Sirius, surprised that that was what she was thinking.

"By the way…what was the real reason you were late?"

"Oh, uh…I was with Felicia doing some…things," said Sirius awkwardly.

"Felicia?" said Andy. For some reason she felt a slight twinge of pain in her heart.

"It's not what you think. We were just talking since we haven't really had a chance too," lied Sirius. He didn't know why he said that, but he couldn't stand seeing that strange look on her face.

"Oh, alright then. I mean you know you could have just said that you were making out. I mean she is your girlfriend after all."

'Yeah she is. Why didn't I just tell her the truth?'

"But uh, Blackie, I'm just giving you a warning."

"A warning? What warning?"

"Although I'm not to found of my friend dating you, she is friend and I care about her, so I'm just going to say this one time."

"Which is?"

"If you hurt her in any way shape or form, you'll be dealing with me. Got it?"

"Yes. I promise. I won't try to intentionally hurt her. But there is the possibility that I may do that in the future."

"Fair enough," shivered Andy. "It's getting late. I guess we should head inside."

"Ladies first," he said as he moved aside to allow Andy a path to the door.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** It's all J.K. Rowling. I only own this story's idea, and the characters I made up. Everything else belongs to her.


	24. Sights in the Library

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Twenty-four: Sights in the Library**

As the students worked diligently well into November, everyone was looking forward to the Christmas holiday that followed the dreaded midterm exams. As for the sixth year students, most of them could be found in the library working on their projects for Professor McGonagall's class.

"I can't believe this!" groaned Felicia in frustration. "I can't believe that the projects are due in the two weeks and I haven't even started anything!"

"Well that's what you get for sucking face with your boyfriend," said Karen not looking up from her book.

"Speak for yourself," mumbled Felicia.

"I may have been with my boyfriend, but at least we were working on our homework as well," said Karen in defense.

"Whatever," sighed Felicia as she went back to looking in her book for information. Karen gave a triumphant grin before she went back to her homework as well. Kelly and her partner were sitting down the table from Felicia and Karen, busy working away as well.

A couple of moments later, Lily walked in and sat down next to Felicia looking a little winded.

"You're running a little late there, Evans," stated Felicia.

"I had to ask Professor McGonagall a question," said Lily flatly as she pulled out her notebook and a few books.

"Ah, I was about to say," trailed Felicia.

"Say what?"

"That possibly a little bit of Potter is rubbing off on you," she said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"Highly doubtful," said Lily coldly.

At that moment Andy walked in looking very stressed out. She walked over to the table that her friends were sitting at and threw her books on the table as she fell into her chair.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Karen.

"What's wrong? Hmm…let me see," said Andy in a highly frustrated tone. "I have a major project that's due, a partner who is constantly snogging with his girlfriend or hanging out with his mates, and oh yeah, I just got a detention from Portview."

"What for?" inquired Felicia.

"Hexing Goyle and Crabbe," said Andy simply. With that said she looked up and saw the look of disappointment on their face.

"What? They were in my way and trying to beat up a first year. Somebody had to do something," said Andy, as if the answer were obvious.

* * *

(At the same time…)

James quickly flew down the stairs of Gryffindor tower and bolted out of the common room scaring half of the students in the room.

"I can't believe I fell asleep. Oh, Evans is going to hang me for sure now," muttered James as he ran down the halls to the library. As he whipped around the corner, he suddenly collided with another person sending a mass of books and paper flying everywhere across the hall.

"Ow! Hey, watch where…you're…going," said the girl as she looked up at James.

"Oh, Merlin. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run into you like that. Here let me help you," said James as he bent down and helped pick up the girl's things.

"Thanks, that's really sweet of you, James," said the girl.

"You know me?" he said as they rose to their feet together.

"Duh, who doesn't? The famous Hogwarts prankster of all time. Thanks," said the brown haired girl before him.

"You're welcome…uh. This might be a nice time to tell me your name, miss," said James with a grin.

"Oh! I'm sorry. It's Abby Holt," she said with a smile as she extended her hand to shake his.

"Hello Abby. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," she said with a bright smile that caused James to feel a little light headed. A feeling that he normally felt whenever he saw Lily smile at him. _Lily._

"Umm…listen I hate to do this, but I have to go and meet up with someone," said James awkwardly.

"Oh, well that's fine," replied Abby with a hint of disappointment in her tone.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine. I t was nice talking to you."

"Nice talking to you too, Abby," answered James as he quickly ran down the hall to the library.

* * *

"Urgh, that's terrible," said Felicia to Andy as James came running to the table, startling everyone.

"Sorry I'm late. What's terrible," he asked as he took a seat next to Lily.

"Hey Jay. Nothing, I was just telling the fabulous story of how I have to serve detention with Portview next week Monday," said Andy sarcastically.

"Oh, that's nice," replied James as he pulled out his work and notebook.

"Geez, thanks for the sympathy there mate," said Andy a little hurt as she pulled out four large and heavy books from her bag.

"What took you so long?" asked Lily.

"I accidentally ran into someone and got held up for a moment. I'm sorry, I was late," said James in a rough tone. His tone surprised Lily a bit, but could tell by his eyes that he was telling the truth.

"It's okay. I was just wondering, that's all," said Lily a little hurt.

"Oh, okay then," replied James. The two sat there in a few moments of awkward silence.

"Ummm…I have that information that I said I'd get on that one spell I said I'd get," said James as he pulled out a long roll of parchment and handed it to Lily. The feeling of his fingers touching hers sent a warm chill down his back.

"Oh wow," said Lily breathlessly. She was completely amazed at the length an in depth research that her partner had done.

"James this is great!"

"You don't need to exaggerate. It's just a report," chuckled James at Lily's reaction.

"I'm not exaggerating. This is really good," said Lily as she scanned the parchment some more.

"Thanks," blushed James. "But it probably doesn't compare to your work. I mean you probably have most of the project done already while I've been goofing off."

Lily looked up in shock. She couldn't believe that James was actually sorry for not doing something, like helping her out. Lily wasn't sure what caused this sudden change in him, but for a moment, she understood what her best friend had seen in him.

"James look,…I'm sorry for blowing up at you at times. It's just when I get under a lot of pressure…" she started, but was suddenly interrupted.

"I know you," said James raising his hand to stop her. "You don't need to explain."

'_Wow, maybe I was wrong about him_,' she thought.

"So…what have you finished so far?" asked James thinking a change in subject might be best.

"Oh…umm…well…I finished the research on how the wizards in the middle ages use to transfigure the whole water into wine in order to trick people into believing it was a miracle from the Christian God. And right now I'm finishing up finding information on how the wizards perfected the art of transfiguring themselves into birds. So now with your information on the weaponry they use to transfigure, plus the info on the art of transforming into a large mammal, the only thing left to do is write a final draft of the bird transfiguration, an intro, conclusion, and practice the required transfigures," said Lily brightly.

"Wow…just like I said," mumbled James.

"Well…there still is a lot to do. I mean I do need your help. This is our project after all," said Lily shyly.

"Okay then…what can I do?"

"Whatever you want, it's your choice," said Lily sweetly with an infectious smile.

(At the same time….)

"Hello there, darling," said Sirius to Felicia as he walked up to the table. Felicia's eyes light up with delight upon hearing his voice.

"Darling? What is this? The 1930s again or something?" snorted Andy as she continued to take notes on her project.

"I'm sorry princess; I forgot that her royal highness demands to be addressed to. How stupid of me to greet my girlfriend first," exaggerated Sirius.

Andy continued to stare at her work but paused her writing momentarily as if deciding whether she should act on impulse to hex, or hit him.

"Keep talking there Blackie, because the more you flap that trap of yours the more likely we'll fail this project," she growled.

The smirk that was on Sirius quickly dissolved into a frown when the words left her mouth. He gave Felicia a quick peck on the cheek and told her he'd talk to her later.

"Alright, so what's on today's agenda?" he asked in a pleasant tone.

"Hopefully getting this project done, if that's okay with you?" fired Andy still not looking up from her book.

"Geez what crawled up your…"

"I'd really rethink about finishing that statement," snapped Andy. She glanced up and saw the surprise look on his face, and decided to tell him what got her so peeved.

"If you must know, I just got a detention from Portview."

"For what?" he asked in disbelief.

"Defending a first year from some Slytherins."

"Bastard," he said under his breath.

"Tell me about it," she said with a sighed. With that Andy closed up her book and looked at the nightmares she had been carrying all day long.

"What some help?" offered Sirius.

"N…yes. Thanks," rethought Andy. The two of them each took two books and headed off to the shelves to take them back for the librarian.

As they traveled up and down the rows of shelves, one of them noticed that their other project seemed to be working out well.

"Wow, they're actually talking to each other," said Sirius as he looked through the shelves at the table his best friend was sitting at.

"Yeah, degrading each other as usual. Remember, when those two talk, it always leads to trouble," said Andy as she lifted one of the heavier books back onto the shelf.

"Actually they seem civil," remarked Sirius looking over his shoulder at her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it looks like she's complimenting him," he said in a surprise tone.

"What? You're kidding me? Let me see," whispered Andy as she went over to where Sirius was standing. She looked through the same opening that Sirius was and saw that he was right.

"I-I don't believe it! They're actually getting along," she said in amazement.

"I guess impossible things do happen," chuckled Sirius.

"With the right help of course," chimed Andy as she looked up and locked eyes with her partner. Both of them couldn't help but smile at each other.

"Come on let's get this project done with," chuckled Andy.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** It's all J.K Rowling's work. I just own the characters I made up and this story idea. Everything else belongs to her.


	25. Both Sides Now

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Both Sides Now**

As the weeks flew by, most of the sixth years finished off their written part of their project and were now concentrating on their practical half of their task. Every group of students found it hard to find a quite and safe place to perform their spells the night before the project's due date. Most of them opted for deserted rooms in the dungeons and classrooms in the north tower or sixth floor of the castle.

Lily on the other hand could be found in a somewhat unusual place, considering the circumstances. She could be found sitting in a far corner of the common room going over her essay for the hundredth time while other year students busied themselves with homework, talks of Quidditch, or a game of wizard's chess. She had no clue whatsoever as to where James had run off to after dinner just a few hours ago. That morning she sent James a note asking him to meet her in the common room later on that evening so they could go over their practical one more time, even though both of them had been practicing the spells since the moment they chose them.

As she sat there wondering where he could be, she slipped back to a few weeks ago in the library. Lily knew from experience that James could hardly ever be taken seriously, but for some reason all that seemed to change since they started working together. He didn't seem so arrogant or childish all the time in her eyes, which surprised her to some extent. But what astounded her most was this feeling deep inside that she always felt whenever she was around him. Just spending a few minutes with him made her feel warm and content from head to toe. She couldn't help but wonder what he would do or say next that would make her laugh so hard that her sides would hurt. But what she found most appealing about him was the look in his eyes whenever he would look at her. If someone had asked her what she meant, she couldn't really describe it but every time she saw it, it always made her feel different. It was as if that one look, made her feel like she was the only woman in the world that deserved to be worshiped fully and completely.

But his look also frightened her at times, and made her feel as if she were cheating on Edwin. Since the incident at Halloween, she hadn't really spent anytime with her boyfriend, saved for a few lunch dates and walks around the castle when they were on duty together. She made a mental note that once this half of the project was over, she'd make it up to him somehow. But as she thought this, the thought of not spending so much time with James was one she didn't know if she could stand.

'_When did he get under my skin so much? Sure, he irritated me to know end for nearly five years as a self-centered prat, who takes pleasure in other people's pain. So why can't I picture a time without him in it?'_ she though to herself as she sucked on her sugar quill pen.

'_I know that he can be rude and down right mean at times, especially to Slytherins, but that's only when he's with his friends and is acting like a Marauder. When he's by himself with me, however, he's completely different.' _

As she continued to stare off into space, she remembered when they were first starting to work on their project. She remembered how he hardly did anything at all and how she didn't really know him at all, until that one night in the common room. That was the first night she learned there was another side to James Potter. A side that was so foreign compared to the one she had seen, ever since the first time she met him. To her, he seemed almost…vulnerable when he talked about the brother he had lost, when he talked about his parents, or the rest of his family. Just from the descriptions he gave of them, she knew that he had a deep love for his family and would do anything for them.

She wouldn't admit it to anyone, especially Andy, but she could see what was so appealing about James Potter. Sure he has his faults and still acts like a child most days. But for some strange reason, that is what seems the most attractive to her. Since she started spending more time with him, she's been more drawn to his out look on life, carefree and reckless. Something she hasn't really known of since she was a small girl. Whenever she's around him, she finds herself feeling more at peace with the world. As if she is slowly finding the hidden child within.

"Lily? Earth to Lily? Come in Lily," said a voice.

Lily blinked out of her daydream to find Felicia and Kelly standing in front of her with Felicia waving her hand in front of her face to get her attention.

"Oh, hey guys. Uh….did you say something?" she asked.

"Yeah, we asked what was going on?" said Felicia.

"Where did you go? You looked as if you were a million miles away," said Kelly as she took a seat next to her.

"Oh, uh…nowhere. Just thinking about some things, that's all," said Lily quickly.

"Well what ever you were thinking of, it must have been something really good," stated Felicia with a grin and a raised eyebrow.

"Why do you say that?" Lily asked.

"Because you had this sappy look on your face. Daydreaming about cutie?" asked Felicia.

"NO! I-I was just thinking about things I need to do before the holidays," lied Lily.

"Sure you were, Evans," smirked Felicia.

"Oh would you leave her alone. Just because you daydream about the opposite sex all day long, doesn't mean that Lily or anyone else for that matter does too," said Kelly. "You know I think you've been spending way to much time with that boyfriend of yours."

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"Because you're starting to sound just like him. And to quote Andy, "the world can barely with stand one Sirius Black as is. If anyone ever decided to become him, or (heaven forbid) he ever reproduces, I'm taking the first spaceship off this planet and getting the hell away from here."

Lily couldn't help but laugh at Kelly's little reenactment of one of her best friends speeches about her arch rival, while Felicia just simply rolled her eyes and turned back toward Lily.

"So what are you up too?"

"Nothing really. Just waiting for Potter to get here. We're supposed to be practicing our spells for McGonagall tomorrow," said Lily as she rolled up her report and placed it back into her bag.

"Oh don't remind me about that. I just came back from a complete evening of torment," shuddered Felicia.

"I take it you and Peter aren't working out?" said Kelly.

"The boy is a complete klutz! He's always tripping over something, and…I don't know. He's just always giving me the creeps sometimes," she responded with.

"Oh relax, Figg. Peter is harmless. He couldn't even hurt a fly," said Kelly.

"I wouldn't go that far," said Lily. "He is one of Potter and Black's gang."

"Good point," said Kelly. "But so is Remus."

"Remus is the exception. Karen got the good one out of the lot. Well other than me of course," said Felicia.

"Ah, yes. Saint Sirius, the perfect boyfriend. And just where is your beloved? Tormenting a Snivellus?"

"No, he's in the library."

"Alone?" asked Lily finding it hard to believe he would be there at this time of night by himself.

"No, he's with someone," said Felicia, wondering how this turned into a twenty questions game of where's Felicia's boyfriend.

"Another woman? Ah! It already starts," exclaimed Kelly.

"No, you over dramatic drama queen. He's in the library with Andy, finishing up his project for tomorrow," yelled Felicia.

"Ah, I sense I bit of the green eyed monster of jealousy in your voice," smirked Lily. It was at this point that Felicia realized that both of them were messing with her, trying to get her all riled up, defending her boyfriend.

"Oh would you two just shut up!" chuckled Felicia. With that she headed up the stairs to her room to get some rest.

"Oh man, I love messing with her like that," laughed Kelly. "So how long are you waiting for Potter?"

"Until he comes I guess," shrugged Lily. At that moment, Kelly gave her a weird look that took little back a bit. "What?"

"Nothing, just…nothing. Forget I even thought of anything," she said.

"No I want to know," insisted Lily.

"Well, I guess you're going have to wait. Here comes new friend now," said Kelly. Lily turned toward the portrait and found James walking through it, and looking around for someone. Once he spotted Lily and Kelly sitting together he started heading toward them. Lily began to feel a fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach, when she locked eyes with him.

"Hi! I'm sorry I'm late," said James truthfully.

"Well I take it that's my cue to leave. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Good night, Lily, James," said Kelly as she bid them goodnight and headed up the stairs to her room.

"Night, Kelly," said both of them at the same time.

"Where have you been? I thought we said we'd meet up at nine?" said Lily with some confusion in her voice.

"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't realize the time and…I'm sorry. Do you still want to practice? I mean it's not too late for you is it?"

"It's fine. I'm game if you are?"

"Sure. So…where do you want to practice?"

"Uh, well, it's a little late to go off to find an empty classroom. Why don't we wait here for awhile, then we'll have the room to ourselves," suggested Lily.

"Sounds like a plan to me," said James with an infectious smirk. "This actually gives me time to finish my astronomy homework. Hopefully I can remember what Star told me earlier today."

"What did she say?"

"Oh, I just asked her about which constellations go with which mythology story," said James with his head hung low.

"Why are you acting like that?" questioned Lily.

"Well…because…I did want you to know that astronomy isn't one of my strong points," he said feebly. Lily couldn't help but giggle at him. Not because of his confession, but because he looked so adorable acting so nervous.

"Potter I don't care what your weak or strong points are. Everyone has their own weaknesses and strong points. No one is perfect," said Lily.

"That's not true. Some people believe you are."

"Well, I'm not. I have my weaknesses too you know."

"Really? Such as?"

"Hmmhmm….can't tell," stated Lily as she shook her head.

"Why not?"

"Because it's a secret," she said with a smirk.

"Ahh…but you know me. I love secrets. Come on. You can tell me," said James with puppy dog eyes.

"Don't give me that look. It doesn't work for any of my other friends, so it won't work for you James Potter," giggled Lily.

"Awak…you're no fun. That's alright though. There are other ways of finding out what you're weaknesses are. Just give me time. The other thing that I love more than secrets are finding out what the secret is," replied James giving off an evil laugh.

Lily couldn't help but chuckle and roll her eyes at his display of being an evil villain. The two continued to work on their other homework for another half hour or so until the last person finally headed upstairs for bed.

Both of them quickly got up and began to move some the furniture around so it didn't get damaged while they were practicing. Each of them took turns casting their spells on the various objects that they would be using for their project tomorrow. Lily was amazed at how good James had gotten with the spells in such a short time span. She knew that he hadn't been practicing for long, but he had pretty much mattered the style and perfection of the spell.

James was also astounded at how good Lily was with her performance. Although, she hadn't quite got the artistic style of their one spell.

"Uh…Evans? You're doing it wrong," said James suddenly as Lily was about to fire another spell.

"Excuse me?"

"You're doing it wrong," he repeated.

"How am I doing it wrong? The spell is working fine," she said.

"It's not the spell. It's your form. You're shoulders are slouching a bit when you're casting your spell."

"I am not!"

"Yes you are. Here let me show you. Go ahead. Cast the spell."

Lily gave him a skeptical look before she shrugged her shoulders and began to cast the spell. Before she could even utter a word, she felt James touch her shoulders, causing her to jump up at least three feet in the air.

"What are you doing?" she asked breathlessly.

"Trust me, Evans. I know what I'm doing," he said softly. He forced her to turn around toward the small statue sitting on the coffee table.

"Go ahead, and begin to cast," he said. Lily gave off a shallow breath and began to cast her spell. She began to lift up her wand arm and she once again felt James's hands on her shoulders.

"Relax," he whispered into her ear softly. The feeling of his warm breath on her ear sent chills down her spine. She instantly began to relax against James's fingers and started to get that familiar feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach. A feeling that she usually felt whenever James was around.

"Square out your shoulders and spread your feet apart a bit," he said softly again. Lily complied with his request and slowly began to close her eyes while her breath began to quicken a bit.

"Now cast your spell."

Lily muttered the words and instantly the stone statue was transfigured into a steel suit of armor, without any force that Lily had been putting into it in order for it to work.

"There you go. Now wasn't that a lot easier?"

"Yes," answered Lily in a low voice as she turned around to face James properly. She looked up into his eyes and felt lost again in the pool of hazel that was before her. He had a look in his eye that she couldn't quite read. But the more she stared into his eyes, the more she felt she was floating on air, and closer toward him.

"I guess I'm not that unintelligent am I?" he said with a chuckle.

"I never said you weren't intelligent, James," Lily replied as she drew a bit closer to him. Upon hearing his name come from her lips, James snapped out of the trance that he was in with Lily and quickly took a step back.

"That was really good. Why don't you try that again?"

"Alright," said Lily a little confused as to what had just happened. She turned back around and returned the suit of armor into its original state.

"Uh, James do you mind if I ask you a question," she asked trying to change the air in the room.

"Sure. You can ask me anything."

"What took you so long to get here? I though you said you would be here as soon as you returned a book to the library?"

"I was! I mean, I did," squeaked James as he began to twitch nervously. "I did, but I also ran into someone."

"Oh? Who?" she asked as she began to cast her spell.

"No one really. Just a girl I met a couple of weeks ago," he replied looking down at his feet.

"Girl?" choked Lily. Upon hearing who he met, her hand began to drop her wand right as she cast her spell, cause a spark to bounce around the room and eventually hit James in the arm.

"Ouch!"

"Oh gods. James I'm so sorry. I didn't mean too. It was an accident. Are you alright?" she said quickly.

"Yes I'm fine. Geez! Evans, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Well you just let a spell you mastered slip away from you, after I told you where I was," said James as he rubbed his upper arm a bit more.

"So?"

"One might suspect that you're jealous perhaps," he said with a smirk.

"Jealous? Me? Of you? Please Potter. I may be able to tolerate you now, but what you are talking about is ridiculous," laughed Lily.

"Is that so? So if I said that I asked the girl out on a date, you wouldn't be a tad bit jealous?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Only in your dreams, Potter," chuckled Lily. With that she turned back to look at James and saw a mischievous look on his face. Lily had a pretty good idea what he was trying to do, so she quickly slapped him on the arm.

"Prat!"

"Ouch! That really hurt. I'm going to have to teach you a lesson, Evans," said James darkly.

"What type of lesson?" said Lily cautiously. She then saw the glint in his eye and knew what was about to happen. She quickly tried to jump out of his way, but she was no match for his reflexes as he grabbed a hold of her and began to tickle her sides.

"James! No! STOP! Ah…that tickles!" gasped Lily though her laughter.

"That's the point of a tickle punishment. Do you give?"

"Never!" she gasped.

"Alright then. Have it your way." With that, James began to tickle not only her sides, her neck, behind her knee, and everywhere else as they fell onto the couch.

"Ah…okay…okay…uncle…mercy!" gasped Lily as she fought to breathe.

"Ha ha…I am supreme. Victory once again!" shouted James as he held up his arms in triumph.

"I don't think so," coughed Lily. Before James even knew what happened, Lily and pounced on him, cause both of them to fall on the floor with Lily on top.

"Now what was that about victory, huh Potter?" she asked as she began to perform her own tickling attack on him.

"Ah…okay. Enough. I give," laughed James under Lily's fingers. Both of them began to laugh at the looks on each others faces.

James's hair was as messy as ever, while Lily's red hair looked just as bad. But to James she never looked lovelier with her bright smile and twinkle of pure happiness in her eyes. He always wanted to see that look on her face when ever he saw her from that day on.

As the two began to calm down a bit, that all too familiar feeling of being drawn together came over them yet again as they looked into each others eyes. James began to sit up more and to look at Lily properly. She suddenly felt very nervous as she began to bite her bottom lip. James lifted up his to stroke her face and run his thumb over her bottom lip, causing a let out a shallow breath.

"Lily, I…" whispered James as he leaned in to Lily barely a few centimeters away from her lips.

"Shhh," said Lily as she placed a finger gently to his lips to silent him.

Just as she was about to move her finger away and close the small space between them, the clock began to chime telling them it was now two o'clock in the morning.

"It's late," said James softly. "We should head off to bed."

"Right. We should," said Lily just as softly. He helped her off the floor and the two quickly muttered a few spells to return the furniture back to their original spot. Once the last chair was put back into place, both began to head up to the stairs until they came to the landing separating the boys and girls dormitories.

"Goodnight, Lily," said James as he lend in and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Goodnight…James," she said softly. But before she turned to head up to her room, she looked into James's eyes one last time, before she gave him gentle kiss on the cheek goodnight.

James stood there in shock for nearly a whole ten minutes, before he realized how stupid he must look standing in the middle of the landing, and headed up to get a goodnight's rest. Dreaming about a certain red haired girl.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I only own this story and the characters I made up…everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.


	26. Late Night Studying

**Day in Avalon**

**Chapter 26: Late Night Studying**

"How much more do we have to write?" groaned Sirius, loudly into the night. The two conspirators sat in the dimly light cavern of the library hall alone, with only the sounds of quills scratching against parchment. It was nearly midnight as the two scrambled to finish their project that was due tomorrow afternoon.

"About another paragraph for me," yawned Andy. "As for you, I have no idea."

"Will you check please?" asked Sirius as he handed over his parchment to her.

"Check it yourself," she said as went on to finishing up her part of the project.

"I can't. My eyes are going crossed eyed," said Sirius as he blinked rapidly trying to get his vision back.

Andy tried to fight the urge to roll her eyes in frustration at her partner, but once she saw just how tired he was, she sighed out of pity for him and took his portion of the paper and the rough draft she had checked over a few hours ago.

"You've got about a paragraph and half," she said as she scanned both papers to make sure there we no repeats.

"Urgh…I can't take it anymore," whined Sirius as he folded his arms and put his head down on the table.

"Your last paragraph is five sentences long. So you really only have…ummm…ten more sentences to write," stated Andy. Sirius looked up in surprise at the piece of parchment Andy was holding up.

"I can deal with ten sentences," he said as he grabbed his work and began to finish up the remainder of his essay.

"I'm sure you can," chuckled Andy as she picked up her quill and began to write some more. After she wrote about three words, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in the center of her writing hand.

"Ouch!"

"What's the matter?" asked Sirius looking up with concern.

"Ah, writer's crap," hissed Andy. "Oww! Aw man that hurts," she cried as she flexed her hand trying to get rid of her crap.

"Here, give me your hand," said Sirius as he held out his hand for hers.

She gave him a waywardly look before she reluctantly gave him her hand. As soon as he had a hold of it, he began to rub the sore muscles of her hand. Andy was amazed at how gentle he's ministrations were and couldn't help but give off a soft moan of delight as the tense muscles slowly eased back to normal.

"Nice huh?" he asked with a lopsided smirk.

"Yeah, that feels really good. Thanks," she replied as he let go of her hand.

"You're welcome," he said with a grin. That simple grin caused Andy to slightly blush although she would never admit it to anyone at that moment.

"You're pretty good at that," she said after a few moments of silence.

Sirius looked up from his paper raised eyebrow to her wondering if she was being sincere. Seeing that she was, he decided to answer her in the most natural way he knew when he was with her. "Had a lot of practice," he said with a sly grin and a wiggled of his eyebrow.

"Urgh…I not even going to ask as to what that implies," said Andy in disgust. This caused Sirius to laugh uncontrollably at the reaction he wanted to get out of her.

"On myself, I mean. I use to get writer's crap all the time during fifth year," he said.

"Ah, I see," said Andy quietly, realizing that she played into a trap. With that, both of them went back to work trying to finish off their project for the night.

"Done! Finally!" stated Sirius. He threw down his quill and lifted his arms over his head in triumph and to stretch out his sore muscles.

"And I'm just about….finished!" said Andy as she scribbled out the last word of her essay placed down her quill as well. "Oh Merlin, I'm glad it's finally over with."

"Me too. How about nest term, we start early and not wait until the last minute?" suggested Sirius as he performed a drying spell on his paper.

"Hey I did my part of the project earlier. Besides, if someone hadn't been fooling around with one's girlfriend, then we wouldn't have been in this situation in the first place," countered Andy as she finished up drying her essay.

"Always blaming me aren't we, Sparky?" chuckled Sirius.

"Well in this case I'm right."

"Ha ha ha…always got to be smug about everything?"

"No, not really. Only when I'm around you," said Andy sweetly.

"Oh, I should feel so special and honored," said Sirius as he placed a hand on his heart to show how touched he was. Both of them began to pack up their things and stood up to stretch out their muscles.

"You should," fired Andy.

"This is a little strange isn't it?" said Sirius suddenly. Andy looked up and gave him a quizzical look, not sure she understood him.

"Us getting along like this, I mean," he added.

"Yeah it is," said Andy after a moment. "But we still fight about stuff like usual."

"Yes, but not in awhile," remarked Sirius.

"Okay fine. You're an egotistical, stuck-up, pretty boy, who thinks the world only revolves around your pathetic life," said Andy plainly.

"Yeah, well you're a nosey, condescending, back-stabbing, know it all who thinks she can wrap any man around her little finger," said Sirius.

"Oh please. Is that the best you can could up with?" sneered Andy.

"Nope, but I'm too tired to think of anything else," replied Sirius smoothly.

"Ha ha ha," said Andy dryly. "Feel better now?"

"A little," he shrugged. "So I guess it's off to bed." Andy nodded in agreement as she checked off the last thing on the things to do list that Sirius had wrote down earlier that evening. As she folded it up, she noticed there was a small blob on the back of the paper.

"Ah, a nice long sleep. Just what I need right now," said Sirius merrily.

"Uh oh," said Andy suddenly as she stared at the words on the back of the paper.

"Uh oh? What 'uh oh'? There is no uh oh!" said Sirius tiredly.

"You are not going to believe this."

"What? Is it bad? Tell me isn't bad," pleaded Sirius.

"It's bad," said Andy darkly.

"I said _not_ to tell me! What is it?" he asked not really wanting to know.

"We have to perform the spells we found."

"That's not bad," said Sirius not seeing what was so terrible.

"Together! If one of us doesn't perform it correctly, then we both get marked down," said Andy in anger.

"That's not a good thing," sighed Sirius in exhaustion. "Hoe do you even know this? Why didn't we see this before?"

"Because you wrote it on the back of the paper you idiot!" growled Andy.

"I'm the idiot! How come you didn't remember it anyway?" fired Sirius.

"Because I was a tad bit more concerned about _finding_ the spells than performing them, since you were to busy with your mates and Felicia," stated Andy.

"Oh! So it's my fault?" shouted Sirius pointing a finger at his chest.

"Argh, this is getting us nowhere. Come on, let's find a place to do the spells," groaned Andy as she swung her bag over her shoulder and stormed out of the library.

The two of them headed out of the library into the darkened castle in search of private room to work on their spells. They eventually ended up in an abandoned classroom on the second floor, since that was the most deserted place in the castle they could find at that moment.

As they worked on practicing the spells they chose to perform for their project, the two of them nailed two of the spells after nearly an hour and a half of practice. As for their third…

"AHHH! I'm never going to get this! I HATE McGonagall and I HATE this stupid project!" screamed Andy as she fired her spell three more times. Each as pitiful as the last.

"Gee, Sparky, I couldn't really tell," said Sirius in a false cheerful tone after he hanging his head in frustration.

"Shut up! Urgh, this is useless. I'm never going to get this and I'm never going to pass transfiguration," cried Andy as she threw her wand in anger. Sirius had managed to catch her wand walked over to her. He spun her around and looked straight into her eyes while he spoke.

"Hey, look at me. You're not going to fail. You're just trying to hard. Here let me show you," he said as he handed Andy back her wand and pulled out his own.

He pointed it directly at the vase that was sitting on the stool that they had set up. He spoke the incantation, and a bolt of lightning hit the vase, springing it up into the air and then suddenly turns into a huge olive tree.

"See. It's easy," said Sirius.

"Yeah, maybe for you. You're the one that has the bloody subject come easily to," snapped Andy.

"It's not that hard," chuckled Sirius. "Here let's pretend that you're going to cast." As he said this, walked behind Andy and moved her so that she was standing in front of the vase that he had brought back to original form.

"Blackie, come on. I'm too tired," she whined.

"Do you want to fail?"

"No! How could you ask me that?" said Andy in a threatening tone.

"Then trust me. Now close your eyes and turn around," he ordered. Andy opened her mouth in protest but realized it was useless. She complied with his request.

"Now imagine yourself about to cast your spell," he said in a low tone. She sighed in frustration as she tried to visualize what he was saying and relax at the same time.

"Okay now imagine yourself raising your wand slowly," he said softly. He come up from behind her and gently raised her arm that held her wand slowly and pointed it at the vase.

"Now clear your mind of everything. Don't think about school, or the project, or friends. No one and nothing else, except you and the spell. Just relax."

Andy let out a sigh of relief and allowed all her feelings of tension ebb away as she listened to Sirius's soft voice. She couldn't help but feel totally relaxed with him standing right behind her and supporting her arm.

"Good, now turn your wrist ever so slightly, and now say the words while seeing it workout in your head."

Andy spoke the incantation in a low voice and pictured the bolt of lightning shooting from her wand hitting the vase, and in its place a huge olive tree would be standing.

'What a stupid dream. I'm never going to get this spell,' thought Andy to herself.

"Andy? Andy, open your eyes," said Sirius softly next to her ear. She slowly opened her eyes and was blown away by the sight that was before her. Standing in the place of the vase, was a perfectly transformed olive tree.

"D-did I do that?" whispered Andy in shock.

All Sirius could do was smile at the look on her face. "And you said you couldn't do it."

"I did it! I actually did it!" screamed a gleeful Andy as she spun around and hugged Sirius who was slightly taken back by her actions. But as she clung to him, he began to enjoy the feeling of her being so close to him as he wrapped his arms around her completely. As soon as she realized she was in a warm embrace with her supposed enemy, she reluctantly pulled away.

"Uh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.." started Andy as looked down at the floor in embarrassment.

"It's fine. I know. You were just happy," said Sirius.

"Thank you for helping me out," she said timidly after a few moments of awkward silence.

"It wasn't a bother. Do you want to practice some more?"

"Nah, that's okay," she said as she shook her head. "You go ahead and get some sleep. I'll stick around for a little bit more."

"It's okay. I don't…mind," yawned Sirius.

"Blackie, you're practically asleep on your feet. Go to bed!"

"I can wait ten minutes for you," said Sirius sharply.

"Black come on. I'll be there in a bit. Go to bed!" ordered Andy as she continued to perform her spell on the vase and then turning it back to its original form.

"And let you roam around a dark castle at two in the morning? I don't think so!"

"What are you afraid for my safety or something," she asked as she looked over her shoulder at him.

"No, actually I'm afraid for my own. It's scary in a big dark castle," he said in a mock baby voice.

"Ah…always knew you were a big baby," snapped Andy. She continued to practice for ten more minutes until she felt she had mastered it enough to get a passing grade.

A few minutes later, the two of them quietly left the classroom and headed back up to Gryffindor tower. They made it there in recorded time and without meeting anyone along the way. As they entered the common room after waking up the fat lady from a deep sleep, they found the fire that was in the hearth had died down to a few glowing embers.

"So how do you think we'll do tomorrow?" whispered Sirius as they headed for the staircase.

"You mean today?" corrected Andy. "Hopefully well enough to get a decent grade."

Sirius let out a chuckle and nodded in agreement. He was completely exhausted and knew that the moment his head hit the pillow, he'd be out like a light. But that feeling didn't last long when he received one of the biggest shocks in his young life.

He didn't realize just how close Andy was as they stopped at the landing separating the boy's and girl's dormitories. But in the blink of an eye she was on her tip toes a bit, and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you for saving my behind," she said softly as she looked into his grey eyes. She started to feel lost again as she stared into his eyes and knew she had better leave soon before she did something that she might regret in the morning. "Good night, Sirius."

And with that she left a very stunned and confused boy standing in the dark alone staring at the spot she once stood at.

"Good night…Miranda," he said softly into the night with a smile.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Please read previous chapter disclaimers. I'm too tired to type anymore.


	27. Finding a Way

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Twenty-seven: Finding a Way**

The next morning seemed to drag on for the sixth years as they dreaded giving their presentations in McGonagall's class. But to everyone's surprise they, each did a wonderful job with their projects, save for Felicia and Peter. He had been so nervous that instead of casting his spell on a muggle picture to make it into a Wizarding one, he ended up casting the spell on Professor McGonagall. For nearly a full five minutes she could not stop saying and doing the same thing over and over again.

"MR. PETTIGREW!" she said as she stomped her foot and placed her hands on her hips. "NEVER IN ALL MY YEARS AS A TEACHER HAVE I SEEN SUCH CARELESS AIMING! CLASS SETTLE DOWN! WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GET PROFESSOR…MR. PETTIGREW!"

The class could not stop laughing at their teacher's actions. But in the end it was Lily who ended the display by finding the countercurse in Felicia's book.

As the weekend neared, everyone was looking forward to a nice relaxing time before their finals were upon them. It was on Thursday afternoon that Andy received a letter from her sister telling her when was the best night to go out partying in Paris. She sent a school owl to Sirius telling him to get their ride ready for early Saturday morning.

While she planned her secret escape from Hogwarts, Lily began to notice that her friend's thoughts were else where, and confronted her on it a number of times.

"It's nothing Lil. I've just got a lot on my mind, what with finals coming up an all," stated Andy.

"Yeah but you never get like this unless you're planning something big. Are you planning some sort of prank?" Lily asked.

"No I'm not planning a prank. I haven't pulled a prank in almost a year."

"Then what is up with you?"

"Nothing! Like I said, I've just got a lot on my mind and I'm trying to sort it all out. Relax Evans; there is nothing to worry about. I'm fine so can we drop this now please?"

Lily decided it was best to just leave things alone after her talk with Andy. _'Maybe I'm just reading to much into things.'_

(Saturday morning)

Lily woke up later than she usually does on a Saturday morning to the sounds of some students playing on the grounds. Apparently it had snowed a bit the previous night. There wasn't enough to have stick around for a while, but it was good enough for a few snowballs.

She looked around her room and found all her friends gone. According to her alarm clock it read 11:15 in the morning. But what also caught her eye was a note with her name on it next to her favorite book.

_Lily-_

_Off to Paris for the day to visit my family and pick up a few things. I'll be back late, so don't worry about me. I'll tell you everything that happened when I get back. Don't cause too much trouble while I'm gone._

_Later!_

_Your friend,_

_Andy._

"Why would she leave now? There really isn't anyone there this time of year. How is she getting there and back in one day without getting caught?" Lily asked herself. She pondered this for a few more moments as she got up and dressed for the day.

When Lily finally came down to the common room, she saw a couple of third years standing over by the couch looking down at someone with snowballs in their hands.

'_Children!' _she thought as she rolled her eyes and sighed at the display before her.

"And just what do you two think you are doing?" she asked the young delinquents as she walked up behind them. Both of the boys froze when they heard her words and turned slowly to face her.

"Uh…nothing. We're just standing here," said one of them with dark brown hair.

"With snowballs? Aren't those a little cold?" she asked with her arms folded.

"Yes," said the other boy with reddish blonde hair.

"So then why are you holding them inside and not out on the grounds?" she asked in her officious voice.

"Because of him," said the dark haired boy pointing over at the couch. Lily looked over the side of the couch and found a passed out James resting comfortably. She couldn't help but think how adorable this boy looked…even if it was James Potter.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea. You shouldn't really mess with someone while they are sleeping or can come up with paybacks better than you dream up." She then looked them both directly in the eyes and asked them to hand over the snowballs before they got into something they would regret later.

The two boys reluctantly handed over their perfect snowballs and quickly ran up the stairs to avoid any other punishment. As she stood there holding the perfectly made weapons, a sudden idea popped into her head. She didn't know if the thought came to her due to spending so much time with Andy and Felicia, or if it was the face that the scene before her was too good to be true.

James had woken up early this morning when he thought he heard the sound of the door opening and closing. When he looked around the room he found Remus and Peter sleeping soundly in their beds. But when he looked over at his left, he found Sirius's bed empty.

'_Huh. That's odd. Padfoot's usually the last to wake up. Probably off to plan a prank.' _

Coming to that conclusion, James turned over to go back to sleep. But for some reason he couldn't fall back to sleep. He stayed there in his bed with his eyes closed for nearly three hours. When he looked at his clock he saw that is was just a little after eight in the morning. Deciding to give up on trying to sleep, he got up and dressed to get an early breakfast. Once that was taken care with, he wondered what else he could do until his best mates decided to show their faces. Coming up empty with ideas, he headed back to the common room to catch up on the latest Quidditch news and a book he started to read before school started.

As he laid on the couch, sleep finally took hold of him and carried him off to the land of dreams. He began to have a wonderful dream in which he was flying high in the air. He saw Sirius as well flying with some blonde on his broomstick. It wasn't until he looked down that he noticed a pair of hands around his waist. He began to turn around to see who was on his broom when all of a sudden…

SPLAT!

"What the…?" sputtered James as he wiped away the cold slush off his face and chest. He heard someone laughing loudly and saw Lily standing next to him.

"Rise and shine, Jamie. It's a beautiful day," grinned Lily.

"Lily? What are you doing!" growled James as he shot up from the couch.

"Giving you a wake up call," she giggled as she took the other snowball and threw it at him. James ducked out of the way and the snowball landed into the hearth.

"Would you lay off it a bit, please!" yelled James as he stared daggers at her.

"Sorry. What's got you in a mood?" asked Lily taken back by his reaction.

"Padfoot. Heard him leaving the room before dawn and then I couldn't get back to sleep," said James as he began to calm down.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't know," she said truthfully.

James could see that she was truly sorry and knew that he did over react a bit. "Ah, it's okay. Better you than some punk first years or something like that," he said jokingly. Lily couldn't help but smile at the irony.

"So what are you up to today, Evans?"

"Nothing really," said Lily as she took a seat on the couch. "Kinda hate to admit this, but I miss my friend's outbursts."

"And just where is your crew today?" chuckled James as he took a seat across from her on the coffee table.

"Kelly and Karen are off with Remus working on their Herbology homework. Felicia I guess is with her boyfriend. And Andy is currently in Paris…or near it anyway," she said as she fell back more into the couch.

"Paris, France?" asked James not sure if he heard her correctly.

"No Paris, Italy. Yes of course Paris, France. Is there any other Paris in Europe?" she said jokingly.

"What is she doing there?" he asked with his face turned up a bit.

"Visiting family I guess. She's not going home for break, and she doesn't really trust the post to deliver her gifts in one piece."

"I see. So you're all alone today?"

"Yeah it seems that way. What about you?"

"Free as a bird. I was planning on heading down to Hogsmeade. You're welcome to join me if you like," he said with a smile.

"But it's not a Hogsmeade weekend," she responded.

"Lily, to me every weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend. Whether the school says so or not," James said in a matter of fact tone. "Don't tell me you never been there when you weren't 'suppose' to be there."

Lily looked at him and felt like wiping that smirk off his face. "Once, with Andy and Felicia," said Lily in the same manner of tone as James.

James got the message that he was beginning to sound like a prat so he quickly changed his tone in order to avoid a fight. "Ah, you naughty little girl! And you didn't get caught or punished?" he said in a fake shocked tone.

Lily couldn't help but laugh at his actions. "Shut up," she laughed.

"Okay okay. So do you want to go or not?" he asked as he got up from the coffee table.

"Hmm…maybe some other time," she said after a few moments of thinking.

"Suit yourself," he said with a shrug. With that he left the common room through the portrait leaving Lily alone. She then got up from her seat and headed upstairs to get some homework done.

When she got up to the room she sat down on her bed with her school bag and began to look for her assignments.

"And what do you think you are doing Ms. Evans?" said a voice from out of nowhere. Lily jumped a bit and looked around her room to see who was there with her. It wasn't until her eyes fell upon the mirror across the room that she knew who was speaking to her.

"Oh! Hello Chris," she said to the reflection of her best friend.

"You didn't answer my question," said Chris in her mirror with her arms crossed.

" Nothing. Just relaxing. Probably finish up some homework."

"Oh a day like today! Seems like a waste. You should head out and enjoy the day with someone."

"Like who?" inquired Lily.

"How should I know? I'm just a mirror. I only give advise when needed and to those who ask, and speak the truth when no one else will," replied Chris.

"Well I guess you're right. I should head out to get some fresh air," said Lily more to herself. _'Hmm…maybe I should see if I can catch up with James. No. No, I was right the first time.'_

"You're hiding something," said Chris.

"I am not," chuckled Lily.

"What is it, Ms. Evans?"

"Well, James just asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him."

"So? Why didn't you go with him?" said Chris, not really seeing what she was getting at.

"Because it's James Potter. That's why!" stated Lily. Chris could see she was in distressed, and knew it would normally be one of her best mates telling her something to help her out.

"Would you like some advise?" she asked.

"Sure," replied Lily.

"Okay. Yes, it is true that Mr. Potter can do some mean and, at times, down right cruel things. But the boy does have some good in him. He just needs someone to tell him that, and bring it out more often."

"Well whoever that brave soul is or will be, I give them my highest regards and sympathies," stated Lily.

"You like him don't you?" said Chris with an eyebrow raised.

Lily couldn't believe what this mirror just said. She nearly fell off the bed as she went over to the mirror to look at it properly in the eye.

"EXCUSE ME! You've got to be kidding me!" exasperated Lily.

"Lily, I'm a mirror. I don't kid around. I don't even lie, unlike my idiot cousins in those stupid carnivals," said Chris as she rolled her eyes at the mention of her mirror cousins.

"Well then if you are so smart, then why don't you tell me what I feel?" said Lily.

"Because I already know, it's you that needs to say it. Besides I couldn't tell you even if you asked."

"And why not?"

"You're not of Miranda's family line," said Chris in a matter of fact tone with a smirk.

Lily could just shake her head in frustration. She now began to understand why Andy has so many fights with her mirror.

"So do you think I should go?" asked Lily.

"I can't make your decisions for you, Ms. Evans. That choice belongs to you and you alone," replied Chris. With that she disappeared back into the mirror leaving Lily staring at her own reflection.

'_She's right, I can't let a mirror make my own decisions for me,' _thought Lily to herself. '_But spending the day with someone the likes of James Potter? I don't think I'll survive. But on the other hand, I do spend quite a bit of time with him as is, and I could always use the fresh air. Also I do need to pick up a few more gifts for Christmas, and Everett's to busy as is…besides it's not he's going to find out or anything…'_

Before she could stop herself, Lily was flying out of the common room with her cloak in hand trying to catch up with James. _'Where did he go? I know he was heading into town. But which passage would he use? Andy told me about the mirror and the one-eyed witch passage. But which would _he _use?'_

Lily was about to forget the idea of heading to Hogsmeade until she caught a glimpse of a rumpled raven-haired boy as she looked down a hallway. She chased after the image, hoping to catch up with him. When she realized where she was, she knew where he was heading.

James stealthily walked down the hall toward the statue of the one-eyed crone, glancing behind him every now and then to make sure no one was following him…especially Severus Snape. For some reason now, Severus had been tailing the Marauders more often than usual.

'_Let's see…where should I go to this weekend? Hmm…need some more dungbombs since Sirius used them up on the Slytherins last week. Could stay in the sweet shop for a bit and get some more chocolate frogs and sugar quills.'_ he thought as he muttered the password to the tunnel.

As he squeezed his way through the tight passage, suddenly heard someone calling to him. When he turned around, he felt a hard blow in his chest. The next thing he knew, James was falling down the slide faster and faster.

When he finally hit bottom, he felt yet another blow to his body. This time someone fell on him.

"OW!"

"OW! Oh, I'm so sorry!" said a female voice. James recognized it instantly.

"Lil?" he asked he tried to get up. Sure enough, Lily Evans was getting up off the floor right next to him. "Evans what are you doing?"

"Making a cake. What does it look like I'm doing?" said Lily as she brushed off some dirt on her jeans and cloak.

"I meant what are you doing here?" said James chuckling a bit.

"Changed my mind," she said with a shrug. "I thought maybe I'd take you up on that offer to go to Hogsmeade."

James couldn't help but smile at the realization that she wanted to spend the day with him instead of doing her homework, or spending time with her boyfriend. Thinking that she might catch on to what he was thinking, he quickly decided to play it cool.

"The great Lily Evans a rule breaker? This is definitely a shock. Especially since you want to spend it with a known rule breaker. What a scandal!" joked James.

"Don't let it get out to much alright? I still have a credibility to uphold," teased Lily.

"My my…another snazzy come back. Didn't know you had it in you, Lily," he said as he lit his wand to light the way a bit better.

"You try living with three of the most sarcastic girls in all of Gryffindor," chuckled Lily.

"You should try living with Sirius Black," replied James, as he picked up his bag that had fallen off.

The two of them quickly made there way through the cramped tunnel silently. When the ground began to climb upward, they slowed their pace down, and soon found themselves at the entrance of the basement of Honeydukes.

"Wait a second, Evans," whispered James as he began to search through his bag.

Before Lily could as why, he quickly slipped the Invisibility cloak over both of them. Lily gave him an odd look as he crept closer to her. She couldn't help but noticed that for some reason, he smelled really good today.

"Just in case we run into one of the owners," he whispered back with his warm breath running past her ear, sending a slight tingling sensation down her back.

"Okay," she replied in a low voice. Lily began to notice that James's closeness was causing her heart to beat a little faster, and that weird fuzzy feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach began to creep up.

As they made there way up the stairs of Honeydukes and found a spot where they could pull off the cloak without anyone seeing them, Lily began to contemplate why she was having these feelings all of a sudden.

'_Why does he have this effect on me? It's not like I fancy him or anything. I have a boyfriend for Merlin sakes! Get a hold of yourself, Evans. It's just arrogant conceded Potter after all.'_

"Lily. Lily! Are you okay?" asked James.

Lily blinked back to reality and saw James standing before her with a look of concern on his face. "Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" she croaked.

"Because I asked you a question and you didn't say anything."

"Oh sorry. I didn't hear you. Um…what was your question again?"

"I asked you what you where did you want to go? I assume you don't want to spend all day here at the sweet shop now do you?" he said with a slight smile.

"Oh…uh…where ever. It doesn't really matter to me. Although I do need to pick up a few more Christmas gifts," said Lily as she began to go over in her head what else did she need to buy and for whom.

"Well then let's get going," James said happily.

After the two of them bought a few sweets at the shop, they headed off into the rest of town. It started to snow a bit more, but to Lily it just made the scene all lovelier. Wizards and witches were busily going about the small village getting their Christmas shopping done under a light dusting of snow. James couldn't help but smile at the look on Lily's face as they walked down the street admiring all the displays as they window shopped a bit. The two of them went into a few stores such as the joke shop, the animal care emporium, and few vintage like shops. They also stopped by The Three Broomsticks to get a couple of butterbeers to warm up. All the while, the two of them talked about a number of things such as their Christmas plans, Christmas stories of the past, and poking fun at a few of the patrons at the pub.

Before they knew it, they saw that it was starting to get late. James quickly paid for their drinks and the two of them quickly made their way over to the sweet shop before it closed. They ducked down the ally a few blocks away from the shop so James could pull out his cloak again. With in a few minutes, the two were climbing down the hole in the floor of the basement that led back to Hogwarts.

Once they got back, James led Lily to where the kitchens were, so they could get a bit to eat. The house elves were more than happy to serve them, and Lily had to admit that it might not be too much of a bad idea to have a house elf in one's life. After they both had their fill of food, they thanked the elves and slowly made their way back to Gryffindor tower.

James continued telling Lily about the time they got a hold of some of Andy's magic powder and used it on Sirius, causing him to do whatever they wanted.

"So then Remus and I grabbed a hold of him and threw him into the lake," laughed James wholeheartedly.

"Bet he was a little mad about the whole situation once the powder washed off him. Especially when you dressed him up in that bright pink dress," chuckled Lily.

"Mad? Nah, I wouldn't use that word to describe his reaction. It was more like he was down right pissed at us," stated James. Lily laughed until both of her sides hurt, as they reached the portrait of the fat lady. James muttered the password through his own laughter, causing the fat lady to roll her eyes at their own amusement.

Lily made it over to the couch with all her bags and continued to laugh a bit more until she could catch her breath. She then noticed that the common room was empty, which was a little strange for this time of night, seeing that it was only about eleven o'clock

"So this was a highly productive day wasn't it?" said James offhandedly.

Lily nodded in agreement. "Yes it was."

"So what did you get everyone?" asked James as he tried to peek into some of the bags Lily had.

"A few little bits and things," said Lily coyly.

James raised an eyebrow at her response. "Uh huh…so what's in this bag?" he asked as he grabbed a hold of a little green bag nearest to the chair he was sitting in. He reached in and pulled out a purple and black covered journal.

"That's for Andy," said Lily. "She's been writing like crazy lately."

"Just make sure none of her enemies get a hold of it," chuckled James, remembering how the hold feud with Sirius and Andy started.

"Have it covered. Anyone who tries to read it with out her permission will get boils and a pig's snout that won't come off for weeks," chimed Lily.

"Nice one," marveled James.

"Yes, plus knowing her, she'll add a little more security to it."

James nodded in agreement as he put the journal back into the bag and grabbed another one. "And this one?" This time he pulled out a small black corset like shirt with a low neckline.

"A shirt that's Felicia's been looking at for weeks," said Lily noticing the surprise look on James's face.

"Can see why. This is definitely in Figg's taste," stated James as he picked Felicia in it. But he also couldn't help but wonder what Lily would look like wearing a top like this as he put it back in the bag. He grabbed a red bag with gold writing on it.

"Don't open that one!" said Lily noticing what bag he had now.

"Why? Is it going to explode or something?" asked James a little startled by Lily's reaction.

"No…it's just something I don't want you to see," said ripped the bag out of his hands and placed it among her other bags.

"Oh. Alright then," said a now highly curious James. When he saw her back turn a bit, he began to reach for the bag again, but was quickly stopped by Lily grabbing a hold of his wrist.

"Don't you understand the meaning 'don't look'?" she asked as she let go of his wrist.

"Yes I do. But you have me intrigued," said James as he wiggled his eyebrows. Lily couldn't help but laugh at his dopey like look of his.

"Ever heard the phrase curiosity killed the cat?" she said with an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, but I'm not of the feline nature," he said smoothly.

"You are one of the strangest individuals I've ever met," she said as she shook her head in amusement.

"I'm honored," said James putting a hand on his heart and bowing his head to her.

"You would be," said Lily smoothly. James grinned at her remark and admired the smile that was on her face. He liked seeing her smile like that.

"How about some hot chocolate to warm us up a bit, before we head off to bed?" suggested James.

"Sure. Just let me go put these things upstairs," said Lily as she grabbed a hold of her bags and headed up the stairs to her room. She stashed her things in her closet and under her bed quickly and quietly. She saw that Kelly had fallen asleep while reading a book, while Felicia and Andy's beds were empty.

Lily changed out of her clothes and into her pink and white pajamas with a snowflake print to relax in. When she returned to the common room, she found James was sitting on the floor in a white t-shirt and blue pajama bottoms, with a couple of mugs of hot chocolate.

"Here you go, Lily," said James as he handed her one of the mugs.

"Thanks," she said. She took a sip of the drink and began to feel it's warming effects immediately. "So…how are you and that girl you were telling me about doing?"

"Abby?" coughed James. He was a little surprise that Lily would want to get on the subject of his some-what-girlfriend.

"Is that her name?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, her name is Abby. She's okay I guess. I…haven't really talk to her in a couple of days," he said shyly.

"Why's that?"

"Well…because I've been a little busy working with my partner on our project," he said in a matter of fact tone. It took Lily a moment to realize what he was really saying. The reason why he hadn't talk to the Abby girl was because he had been spending his time talking to her.

"Oh. Right," she said. Lily didn't know why, but she began to feel a sense of pride in knowing this little bit of information.

"Yeah, I'm going to see if I can find her tomorrow and hang out with her a bit. What about guy? How's Everett these days?" asked James. Hearing James say her boyfriend's name caused her slight happiness high to disappear.

"Oh…uh…he's fine," said Lily.

"Well that's good. I'm glad to hear that you two are still together," lied James. _'Even if he's all wrong for you.'_

"Yeah. Um…actually I haven't really had a chance to talk to him recently. What with the whole project thing, and he's been really busy as well," confessed Lily.

"Oh. I see. Guess that's happing a lot lately," joked James. Deep down he was jumping up and down learning of the fact that Lily's been too busy spending all her time with him than with her boyfriend.

"Yeah I guess so," said Lily. Suddenly she noticed a book under the couch. She reached under and grabbed a hold of the dark brown book. The title of it was slightly faded but she could still make it out, _Gulliver's Travels_.

"Hmmm…wonder who's this belongs too?" she said as she began to look on the inside cover to see if their was a name.

"Uh…actually that belongs to me," said James noticing the book in her hands.

"I didn't know you read stories like this?"

"Yeah, I started reading it before school started. Have you read it?" asked James as Lily handed it over to him.

"Once when I was little. Well actually my father read it to me before I went to bed. I use to fall asleep after about ten minutes of listening to him read," chuckled Lily.

"Aww…how cute. Of course I really can't complain since I use to do the same thing when my mom read to me when I was little," said James.

"Would you read some of it to me?" asked Lily. James's was taken back a bit, but once he looked into Lily's bright green eyes, he couldn't refuse.

"Sure," he said in a low voice. He began to read aloud from where he left off. Lily listened to James's voice as he read about the many adventures, and soon she found herself finding it hard to keep her eyes open. With in a few minutes, Lily was fast asleep. James's looked up from his book and noticed that she had fallen asleep on the floor. He then grabbed a hold of a blanket that was off the back of the couch and laid it over Lily. He then went back to reading his book silently and soon fell asleep as well.

James woke up about an hour and half later to the feeling of something on his shoulder. He saw that Lily's head was now on his shoulder as they laid there on the floor. She felt him stir and work up a bit as well. When she opened her eyes, they both stared at each other, each with an expression the other couldn't figure out. James then lifted a hand to her face and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered on her cheek, slowly stroking her face with a gentle touch.

She slowly closed her eyes as he began to move closer and closer to her mouth. He hovered over her lips a few centimeters away taking in her intoxicating aroma. She could feel his warm breath on her lips and wanted to feel them on hers desperately. Not being able to withstand the torment any more, she began to move ever so slightly to close the gap. James was about to make the final move…until…his seeker like instincts kicked in and heard something move near the entrance causing James to pull away from her. Lily blinked a few times still in a daze and sat up more looking over where James was looking at.

"What is it?" she said sleepily.

"I thought I heard something," he said looking back at her. "Probably just the wind or one of the ghosts."

Lily nodded in agreement and noticed the time on the clock. "I guess wee should say goodnight then. It's almost three."

"Yeah, we should," said James softly looking at Lily again. He started to feel that overpowering pull take over again, but knew he couldn't give into it.

"Goodnight James. Thanks again for letting me tag along," said Lily softly looking up at him.

"The pleasure was all mine…Lily," he said in a strange voice. With that said, Lily's cheeks flushed a bit and she then felt his lips on top of her forehead, not the way a friend would kiss her…but in another kind of way.

"Goodnight Lily. Sweet dreams," he said softly. Lily nodded still stunned slightly at his actions. Both of them got up and began to straighten the room. Lily had extinguished the fire in the hearth, while James cleaned up the floor a bit. The two of them departed to their rooms thinking about what almost happened a few moments ago. As they left, neither of them noticed that the Invisibility cloak James had thrown on the nearby chair was not there anymore.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any other characters that are in the books. I only own this story idea and the characters I made up. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.


	28. Why Don't You and I

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Twenty-eight: Why Don't You and I?**

Sirius was tucked away soundly in his bed Saturday morning, dreaming of things most boys his dream of…fame and fortune. In his dream, he was a champion Quidditch player. He had just won the World Cup and was surrounded by a number of female fans.

"Oh Sirius you're so wonderful!" exclaimed a few of his 'fans'.

He couldn't help but grin at all of his adoring fans, and at how lucky he was. Suddenly he felt someone close to him slightly breathing hot air on his ear.

"Are you enjoying yourself Black? Hmm…all those adoring girls throwing themselves at your feet?"

It was a girl's voice, and a sexy one by the sound and look of it. Even though he could only see a shadow like figure behind him.

"I bet you'd just love it if one of them did some naughty things to you," said the voice. An evil smirk spread across his face at the thought.

"But what kind of naughty things? I wonder," said the voice pondering the thought. "Oh I know…how about…this." Suddenly Sirius felt water on his head in slow and short spurts.

"What the bloody hell?" sputtered Sirius.

"Shhh…you wake them up!" whispered a voice next to him. It was still night outside and the room was dark save for the slight stream of light that came from the door that was slightly open. He looked over to his right and saw Andy standing there putting his night glass back on his nightstand.

"Sparky? What the bloody hell are you doing?" whispered Sirius angrily.

She glared at him for a second before rolling her eyes to the ceiling. "Waking you up or do you not want to get out of here like you told me yesterday?"

For a moment he had no idea what she was talking about until he remembered their conversation yesterday about heading off to Paris. "The trip…right…sorry," he apologized.

"It's fine. Just meet me down in the common room when you're ready," said Andy. She was a little surprise to hear him apologize to her this early in the morning, but dismissed the thought as she headed out of his room and back down to the common room.

Sirius grumbled something inaudible as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He looked around the room and saw his three friends sleeping soundly, with Remus snoring a little loudly. _'Luck bastards,' _he thought as his feet hit the freezing floor and got ready. About twenty minutes later Sirius climbed down from his room with a small bag to find common room empty.

"Where did she go now?" said Sirius to himself.

"Blackie!" hissed Andy. He looked up toward the landing that separated the boys and girls dorm and saw Andy looking down at him. "Wait there. I'll be down in a minute."

"Are you ready yet or not?" whispered Sirius loudly.

"Shhhh... keep your voice down. Just give me a sec," said Andy from the balcony over looking the common room. She then disappeared back into the girl's dormitory to retrieve the rest of her things.

"Bloody women," groaned Sirius. "They always take to damn long. Either it's their makeup or their hair."

"Oh, you're one to talk Blackie. Mister I have to spend two hours in front of the mirror to make sure every strand of hair is in place."

"I'd be mindful of the one who is so graciously allowing you passage out of here."

"And I'd be extra polite to the one who knows where we are heading too."

"Come on!" grunted Sirius

"Yes, sir!" said Andy, raising her hand to salute him. The two of them silently left the common room with no cover of the Invisibility cloak.

"Umm…did you forget something?" asked Andy. Sirius looked at her puzzled as she made a weird jester of throwing something over her head. It took him a second to realize what she was talking about.

"Nope. I have something else to help us in case we run into anyone," he said with a smirk.

"Like what?"

"Never mind your pretty little head," he said as he lend toward her staring into her eyes. "Just trust me." With that he continued on down the hall pulling something out from his pocket.

"Trust you?" said Andy as she chased after him. "I'm sorry do I look like a complete…" But she never got a chance to finish her remark.

Sirius quickly pulled her into a darken niche with his hand over her mouth, as he stood in front of her. "Shhh…Hagrid's coming," he whispered.

Andy held her breath and tensed up as Sirius pinned her to the cold stone wall. As she began to think of ways to get him off her, a shadow of light began to appear at the corner of her eye. From the long shadow, she could make out it was a very large figure striding down the hall. Soon the great form of Hagrid was in plain view. Andy was sure they were caught, but apparently Sirius had chosen a good form of cover. Standing in the small niche was a statue of a fairly large wizard with a number of small animals around him.

Hagrid continued down the hall swinging his lantern and something else in his other hand, while humming a little tune. After about four or five feet from where the two were hiding, Hagrid took a left turn down the hall and out of sight from Sirius and Andy.

"Whew…that was close," sighed Andy when Sirius removed his hand from her mouth, but still had her pinned to the wall.

"Yeah, really," agreed Sirius as he looked down at her. He didn't know why, but being this close to her was having a very strange affect on him. The longer he held her like this, more he wanted to…to…

"How did you know it was Hagrid?" she asked. Sirius blinked suddenly and took a small step back from her.

"Uh…I heard him," said Sirius as he quickly felt to make sure he put something in his back pocket. Andy saw this but decided not to comment on it.

"Yeah, right," she replied sarcastically. Sirius rolled his eyes as he stepped back out into the hallway. As he did this, Andy quickly saw a piece of rolled up parchment sticking out of his back pocket and lifted it off him.

"Hey!" said a surprised Sirius as he reached around to stop her. Andy dodged his hand and took a sidestepped out of his reach as she gazed down at the parchment.

"What is this? Some kind of map?" snorted Andy, reading the title.

"Give it back," barked Sirius as he made a grab for the parchment again. Andy pulled it out of his reach as she continued to gaze as the map.

"Hold on. This is a map of Hogwarts," she said noticing a number of rooms labeled "McGonagall's office" and "Charms classroom". But what was most miraculous was the fact that it showed a number of little labels moving about with names such as 'Argus Filtch', 'Rubeus Hagrid'. She also saw a little label reading 'Miranda Starmenter' next to one reading 'Sirius Black' right where the real Miranda and Sirius were standing.

"Where did you get this from?" she said in amazement.

"I killed a man for it," chimed Sirius as he took hold of the map and folded parchment back up. "I made it along with the rest of my mates."

Andy looked at him a little puzzled until she remembered about a month ago Remus asking her what spell she used to make her journal entries disappear and reappear again unharmed. She asked him why and he replied with something along the lines of 'No real reason. Just the guys were tired of other people (namely Slytherins) getting a hold of their notes to one another and breaking their charms.' She had gotten the impression that he wasn't telling the truth but lent him the book she had gotten the spell from. _'Clever little devils.'_

"Nice to know that you lot have mover important thing to do than your studies," chimed Andy.

"I'm sorry I thought I was talking to Princess Sparky, not the great Lily Evans," replied Sirius. He could see that Andy's temper was being to rise by the look on her face.

"Hmmm…that's funny because I thought we were heading off to a party, but apparently I was wrong," spat Andy. She went over to the niche again to get her bag and head back to the common room. That was until Sirius grabbed her arm as she started to head back the way they had came.

"I'm sorry…okay?" sighed Sirius out of frustration. Andy was having trouble reading his expression. She didn't know if it was just a trick of a shadow or what, but there was something about his eyes that was so…so…

"Come on, let's get out of here. The tunnel is up ahead," said Sirius as he pulled her along down the hallway.

The two of them walked down a few more corridors until they reached the tapestry that covered one of the secret tunnels that led out of Hogwarts. Within a matter of minutes the two of them were greeted with the cold morning air. They then quickly made a break for the dark forest even though no one was really up to notice them. Once they were inside the forest, both of them lit their wands and made their way through the thick and creepy forbidden forest.

"Ouch that was my foot, Black!" growled Andy in pain.

"Sorry," he said quickly.

"How much further is it to this place that you're taking us?" barked Andy.

"We're almost there. It's a couple of yards up ahead."

"About time," said Andy under her breath.

Once they reached a small clearing near the center of the forest, Andy saw a massive old oak tree sitting in the middle of the clearing with it's branches somewhat drooping. Sirius asked her to stay there for just a moment. She watched as he made his way to the tree and disappeared behind it. A few moments later she heard him grunting and straining as if he were pulling something very heavy. Curious as to what he was doing she stepped closer and saw him coming around the tree pushing a very large motorcycle.

"Here it is!" said Sirius beaming with pride.

"What? This is it? This is what the big secret is about?" said Andy skeptical.

"What's wrong with it?" said Sirius confused and agitated.

"It's a motorcycle."

"Yeah I know."

"Oh, good. Then you do realize that in order to get to Paris, we have to travel over water, right?"

"Yes. I know that, Sparky," he said as he brushed off a few leaves and started to get the motorcycle ready to start.

"Okay genius, and just how exactly do you expect this contraption to the cross the..."

"Look would you just get on already," said Sirius as he hopped on and saw the sun beginning to rise in the east.

"I'm not getting on that thing with you driving," said Andy with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Fine. Suite yourself," he replied with a grin as he grabbed a hold of the handle bar and started the bike up. Andy sighed in frustration knowing that this was the only way they were going to get to any place.

"Urgh, fine. Just hang on a sec," said Andy over the engine as she dropped her bag and pulled out baseball cap she had packed.

Sirius watched her curiously as she reached into her pocket, pulled out her wand, and transfigured the cap into a motorcycle helmet.

"You really don't trust me do you?" chuckled Sirius.

"Oh, I trust you. I trust you about as far as I can throw you," said Andy cheekily as she put on her backpack and hopped on to the back of the bike.

"So how exactly do you plan on crossing the channel?"

"You'll see," said Sirius with a smile. He then revved the engine a couple of times before speeding off into the forest, catching

Andy off guard a bit. As the two sped off, Andy was surprised at how easy Sirius handled the bike. But as she looked over his shoulder, she saw that the two of them were heading toward the edge of a cliff.

"Blackie? What are you doing? Black? Black? Blackiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee!" screamed Andy as they went over the cliff.

Unknown to her Sirius had pressed down on a button near the headlight switch that activated the flying mechanism. Andy grabbed onto Sirius for dear life and closed her eyes when they went over. But she noticed that it was taking a long time to fall. She slowly opened one eye and saw the ground below her slowly disappearing. She turned her head left and right and realized that they were flying in mid air out of the dark forest.

"Told you I had a way of getting to Paris," chuckled Sirius over his shoulder. He could see the look of surprise and amazement on her face before he turned back to the oncoming morning sun. Regaining her bearings and thoughts, Andy quickly took the palm of her hand and hit Sirius in the side of the head.

"Ouch! Hey!" whined Sirius as he rubbed the left side of his head.

"Don't scare me like that, you...jerk!" roared Andy.

"Sorry! I promise no more surprises like that. Especially if you're going to hit me. But you got to admit that that was pretty funny."

Andy looked flabbergasted at him, but slowly tried to hide the smile that wanted to come out. Sirius could see out of the corner of his eye that she was having difficultly not smiling and began to laugh.

"Shut up!" giggled Andy as the two of them rode off into the clouds with the oncoming sunrise, leaving the school grounds behind them.

Within a couple of hours, they reached the French shore side. The view from where they were was amazing as the beautiful shore view quickly changed into the countryside with a few cozy looking chateaus scattered here and there. The amount of clouds soon became scarce, forcing the two of them to travel the muggle way. After about an hour or so, the two of them pulled over for a rest just outside of Paris.

"Mind if I ask you a question?" asked Andy as she looked up at Sirius. He was perched up on a large pile of rocks that where once part of an old stone wall.

"Depends," he said as he took a bite of an apple he had.

"Where did you get your little toy?" she said gesturing over to the bike.

"James and I found it last summer in a creek behind his house. So we pulled it out and fixed it up with Remus's help of course," he replied.

"And the flying part?"

"I let a cousin of mine play around with it while I was at school. When I got it back…this was the outcome," shrugged Sirius.

"Interesting," nodded Andy, a little impressed with the story.

"So where in Paris are we of too, Sparky?"

Andy glared at him over the pair of sunglasses she had on. "It's an underground club. My sister and I heard about it from some wizards we met over the summer. It's a pretty cool place."

"Ah…and will miss Jennifer be there tonight?" chimed Sirius. He remembered when Andy's younger sister was at Hogwarts. Although he never really got to know her, he heard the stories about snobbish attitude and the way she treated most people while at Hogwarts.

"Probably. She's home for the weekend helping out with my baby sister, since my mum is over in America this weekend," she said was a hint of disgust in her voice at the mention of her mother.

"Did you want to stop by?" he asked suddenly. Andy looked up at him with a surprised look on her face, even behind her shades.

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"To say 'hi' and drop of those gifts I saw you pack away before," he said.

"I don't want to be a bother," said Andy a little confused as to way he was being so nice.

"To late for that. You've been a bother since the day I met you. But it's no trouble at all. Besides, we have what…almost five hours or so to kill before we head off to this 'great party' of yours," he said with a sly grin.

Andy looked him over and played with the idea in her head for a bit. She hadn't really expected to stop off at her mother's home on this trip, but the idea did seem like a good one. Considering the fact that her mum was out of town, and the only ones who would be there were her baby sister and her nanny. After a few moments of silence Andy slid off her sunglasses and looked him directly in the eyes. "Okay. Let's get going."

* * *

(Six hours or so later…)

Paris at night was something that many tourists look forward to experiencing on their trip. The sight of the Eiffel Tower lit up against a black velvet night sky was is nothing but spectacular as well as many of they other tourist attractions around the city. After spending a few hours at the house, Sirius and Andy quickly sped through the city toward an old industrial area. After a few minutes, Andy pointed out an old dilapidated warehouse.

Once they reached the warehouse, Sirius noticed a few cars and bikes parked near the building.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" asked a skeptical Sirius.

"Yep," said Andy simply as she smoothed out her long robe-like coat.

She noticed Sirius surveying the sight and knew exactly what he was thinking: _'this looks like a dump!'_ Andy then came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry…looks can be deceiving," she said with a smirk, as she continued to walk over to an old rusty door.

'_Yeah, famous last words. Where've I heard that saying before?' said Sirius sarcastically to himself._

Once the both of them had reached the door, Andy knocked three times on the cold metal. A few seconds later, a peep slot slid open to revel a pair of dark scary looking eyes.

"Yes?" said a deep voice from behind the door.

"Louis sent us," said Andy with a bit of attitude in her voice.

"Louis who?" boomed the voice of the guard.

"Louis the fourteenth. Oh, and he told me to tell you, that you were an ugly piece of crap," she said with attitude as she placed a hand on her hip. The guard simply slammed the sliding door shut, leaving Sirius and Andy out in the freezing cold.

"Way to go, Sparky! We've come all this way to insult someone. Is this your idea of a joke?" But as soon as the words left his mouth, they both heard the sounds of a lock scraping against the door and the slight groaning of the door opening up.

"You were saying," said Andy with a smirk as she walked into the building. Sirius stood there stunned for a moment before he too walked in.

Once in side, Sirius saw the large doorman wearing all back and carrying his wand in pocket. Andy then grabbed a hold of his coat and led him down the dingy hallway. Halfway down the hall, they met up with a middle aged man wearing a black t-shirt with red letters that read 'C.B.' on the upper left side of his shirt.

"May I take your coats please?" said the man brightly. Sirius then pulled off his coat to reveal his light blue button down shirt that was only partly done up to show off his white shirt underneath.

"Mousier. Mademoiselle." said the coat man as he took both of there coats. It wasn't until then that Sirius saw what Andy had put on when they were at her house. When she came down from the upstairs bathroom, she was already wearing her black robe. Now before him, she was dressed in a light purple crochet tank top with very thin straps that stopped just above her navel and pair of black hip hugging bellbottoms, along with a thin silver star belly chain.

"What? What's the matter?" said Andy noticing the look on his face.

"N-n-nothing. I just never have seen you in an outfit like that. Most of the time I see you in your uniform or a pair of jean and a jumper," he said in amazement.

"Okay. I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult," said Andy with a raise eyebrow as she took the ticket from the coat man.

"You look really…nice," he said after a momentary pause.

"Thank you. You don't look half bad yourself," she said with a smirk. With that she led them both down the rest of the hallway to the double doors at the end of it. About the entrance, Sirius saw in glowing red letters the words _Club Bacchus_.

Upon entering, Sirius was met with a sight he'd never imagine. Before him was nearly six hundred people all dressed differently moving to the sounds of loud music he'd never heard before. Along the walls were a number a neon-like lights blinking every now and then, along with strobe lights and a disco ball up in the rafters. He noticed that the majority of the people were just sitting/standing around with drinks in their hand talking as best as they could with the people around them. Andy led him through a crowd of people to a railing that over looked a lower level. Below them was a mob of people dancing the night away with some of them getting a bit friendly with their dance partners.

"Welcome to Club Bacchus, Blackie!" shouted Andy in Sirius ear.

"What is this?" said Sirius as he motioned to the music playing.

"Sounds of the future. It's called techno," replied Andy.

"Never heard of it."

"No on has. Not yet anyway," she answered. Sirius gave a perplex look until she pointed over toward the other side of the warehouse. Down on the dance floor behind the deejay was a massive platform that held a huge ball of dark mass that swirled around in place.

"One of the reasons why this place is underground is because of that thing," she said.

"What is it?"

"A time hole. Illegal throughout the world. It's patched in to listen to what type of music is in the near or distant future."

"So this is what's going to be like in the future?" he asked.

"More or less. Don't worry not all the music is like this. Come on, this way," said Andy as she fought through the crowd toward the bar.

Once they reached the bar, Andy ordered the drinks and paid the bartender.

"Drink up, Blackie," said Andy as she handed him a shot glass with a tan like liquid in it. "Cheers." They both took their drink and gulped it down in one swallow.

"What is this stuff?" coughed Sirius.

"A little taste of Mexico," said Andy as she shook her head.

"Well look who it is. If it isn't the party princess herself," said a voice from behind Andy. Andy and Sirius both looked at the tall dark haired girl who was smiling at them both.

"Hey Marissa. Oh it's so good to see you!" said Andy as she gave the girl a hug hello.

"Yes, I know you missed me terribly. Oh, who's your friend?" said Marissa as she checked out Sirius.

"This is Sirius. Sirius this is Marissa von Berken."

"Nice to meet you," said Marissa as she shook Sirius's hand.

"Like wise."

"Hey do you guys want to head out to the dance floor?" asked Marissa.

"Sure. Blackie?" asked Andy.

"Umm…nah you gals go ahead. I think I'll sit this one out," said Sirius not really in the mood to dance right then. Andy was about to question him again, but he gave her a look that told her to go ahead and that he'd be fine.

As the girls left, Marissa pulled Andy closer by the arm so she could whisper something in her ear.

"Blackie?" questioned Marissa.

"Last name," said Andy simply.

"Whoa…wait a minute. You mean that's _**the**_ Sirius Black? The one you can't stand from Hogwarts?"

"Oui," replied Andy as the girls made there way over to the stairs to the lower level.

"So what made you bring him?" questioned a confused Marissa.

"Needed a ride," shrugged Andy.

"I see. Hmmm…" said Marissa as she looked over her shoulder.

"What?"

"Well…you never said that the talks were true. He is HOT!" exclaimed Marissa.

"Oh please!" sighed Andy as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on. You expect me to believe that if you didn't have a history with him, and you just met him tonight…you wouldn't find that boy irresistible?" asked Marissa with a raised eyebrow.

"No!" said Andy quickly, but from the look on Marissa's face, Andy knew she didn't believe her. "Cute maybe, but irresistible…hardly."

"Whatever you say, Star," chuckled Marissa.

"Come on lets hit the floor," said Andy.

At the bar, Sirius ordered a drink, and decided to take a look around. As he walked around he noticed a number of attractive girls that were having a good time dancing away to the music. As he reached the railing, a new song began to play and the mob below began to move in a sort of familiar dance step.

_All my people in the crowd Grab a partner take it down! _

_It's me against the music_

_Uh uh _

_It's just me _

_And me _

_Yeah _

_C'mon _

_No one cares _

_It's whippin'my hair, it's pullin' my waist _

As he listened to the music, he noticed Andy and Marissa in the crowd having the time of their life. As he watched them dance around with a couple of guys, he started to feel a small knot in his stomach that soon diminished when he saw the girls move along with crowd.

_All my people on the floor _

_Let me see you dance _

_Let me see ya _

_All my people wantin' more _

_Let me see you dance _

_I wanna see ya _

_All my people round and round _

_Let me see you dance _

_Let me see ya _

_All my people in the crowd _

_Let me see you dance _

_I wanna see ya _

The crowd began to move in a sort of choreographed dance full of spins, twists and shakes. In all the years that he'd known Andy, he never imagined her to be a some what dancing queen. The way the crowd was moving along was nothing but amazing.

_Get on the floor, baby lose control _

_Just work your body and let it go _

_If you wanna party, just grab somebody _

As Sirius continued to watch the crowd, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that many people were also becoming somewhat drawn and hypnotized to the dance crowd below. But as for him, one person was more or less hypnotizing him.

_All my people in the crowd, let me see you dance _

_C'mon Britney take it down, make the music dance_

_All my people round and round, party all night long _

_C'mon Britney lose control, watch you take it down _

After the little performance, Sirius headed back toward the bar to get another club soda. A few minutes later he was greeted with Andy and Marissa's presence along with a few other girls.

"Well you lot looked like you were having a good time," chimed Sirius as he took a sip from his glass.

"And what if we were?" asked Andy coyly.

"Sirius?" said a girl next to Andy. She was about three inches shorter than Andy with dark brown hair that had bright red highlights streaked through it. The girl also had the same nose and similar facial features as Andy, except for the eyes, which were a dark brown.

"What are you doing here?" asked the girl with a hint of a snobbish attitude, as she scanned the boy before her.

"He was my ride," said Andy as she glared down at her younger sibling. Sirius saw Andy give her a look that blatantly meant 'you've got a problem with it…TOUGH!'

"Wow. You must have been really desperate to get away from Hogwarts," said Andy's little sister, Jennifer, as she scrunched up her nose in disgust.

"Hello to you too, Jen," said Sirius sweetly. "You look very…nice this evening." He added once he got a good look at what she was wearing, which was not much. She had on a red halter top that was extremely low cut, as well as a black mini-skirt that was way too short on the petite girl, and black boots that came up to her mid leg. Normally, Sirius, like many guys his age, wouldn't mind seeing a girl show off a little skin. But this look was a bit much, even for him.

"Yeah, I know," spat Jen as she quickly took a swig of the drink she had ordered. "Come on girls, lets go party." The girls that had come off the dance floor quickly finished their drinks, and followed Jen back toward the dance floor. But Andy and Marissa decided to sit this one out.

"I see Jennifer is as cheery as ever," said Sirius once he knew Andy's sister was far enough away.

"I'm sorry about her," apologized Marissa. Andy simply shook her head and asked the bartender for a coke.

"Don't worry about it Marissa. I know how she gets," said Sirius with a smirk.

"Why didn't you say something to her?" asked Marissa to Andy.

"Because it wouldn't have helped anyway," said Andy simply. "Jennifer has a mind of her own, and she'll never change. I've been trying to keep her in check and you see where it got me."

"No where," said Sirius as he took a swig of his drink.

"Exactly," said Andy before she ordered another coke.

"Urgh, I swear once of these days she's going to end up in a world of trouble and then expect me to bail her out of it, as usual. She's just like her mother," said Andy darkly.

Sirius then put his hand on her shoulder and began to rub it gently. "Hey, forget about the diva wannabe. I thought you wanted to have some fun?"

"I guess you're right," chuckled Andy slightly.

"I'm sorry, can you say that again?" said Sirius as he rubbed his ear a bit.

"You heard me the first time, Black. Don't push your luck," said Andy lightly.

"You too don't seem like you really hate each other," piped Marissa as she took a sip of her drink.

"Eh, we tolerate each other," shrugged Sirius. At that moment, a new song began to play that was very upbeat.

"Ooohh…this is a really good beat," said Marissa. She then got up and walked around Andy to where Sirius was. "Dance with me, Sirius?"

"I'm not that good of a dancer," stated Sirius, as he shook his head no.

"Oh come on Black," encouraged Andy.

"No I don't really think so," stuttered Sirius. But it was no use. Marissa had managed to pull Sirius off the stool and towards the dance floor. Andy couldn't help but laugh at the look on Sirius's face as she followed behind both of them.

The three of them danced away on the dance floor, with Andy meeting up with a couple of cute French guys. Every now and then, she looked over and saw Sirius and Marissa dancing away, if you could call what Sirius was doing, dancing. He seemed to do some sort of weird shuffle like step, while looking stiff as a board. After a few minutes, he began to loosen up a bit and started imitating a couple of moves he saw other people doing.

Soon the songs started to turn into slow ones, and Andy began to head back up to get something to drink. As she made her way to the stairs, she met up with Sirius who was slightly flustered from dancing.

"Well that was fun," said Andy.

"A little interesting," Sirius chimed out with a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

"Where's Marissa?"

"Still out on the dance floor with this guy she met," said Sirius.

"Oh. Drink?" suggested Andy.

"Sure."

After a few moments of trying to fight there way through the crowd of people, the two of them made it over to the bar and ordered another coke. (this time with a splash of rum in it) Once they got their drinks, the two of them found an empty table that over looked the dance floor. As they sat there, Andy found Marissa dancing closely with a tall blond haired boy.

"Looks like your admirer lost interest," nodded Andy toward the dance floor. Sirius saw what she was talking about and shrugged at the comment.

"Eh…there'll be others," he said smoothly.

"You sure are full of yourself," said Andy as she shook her head.

"And you aren't?" spat Sirius playfully.

Andy could do nothing but shake her head and decided that a change of subject was in order. "So tell me a story."

"A story?" asked Sirius after he took a sip of his drink. "What kind of a story?"

"Don't know. How about a wonderful sibling story. Since you already heard one from me," she said with a smile.

"Nothing really to say," sighed Sirius. "You know Regulus. Wouldn't you want to forget him if he were your brother?"

"Probably. But knowing me I'd probably have killed the little prick before he could walk."

"Don't think the thought didn't cross my mind more than a few times. But alas…he was held so highly in my family's eyes. A true Black," he said before he took another swig of his drink. "Unlike me. The outcast who consorts with half bloods and mudbloods. Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"Sorry for what?" inquired Andy. "Blackie you know that world holds no power over me. I personally take it as a compliment to be called a mudblood."

"Why is that?" asked Sirius.

"Because to me it means I'm different in the Wizarding world, just like I'm different in the muggle world. I'm unique! It also means to me that I won't be treated like I'm some form of bloody royalty when in reality I'm no better than anyone else."

"So instead your saying you'd rather be treated like crap?" said a slightly confused Sirius.

"No. But you have to take the good with the bad. Tell me…do you like being treated as a 'pure-blood'?"

"Hell no. That lot is nothing but a bunch of old crones who have too much time on their hands. In my opinion they can all go bugger off for all I care," stated Sirius.

"So what makes you think I'd want that? By being a mudblood…I can do what I want and be who I want to be without having to uphold a stereotype. In my mind, the reason why purebloods call other blood lines different names, is because they're jealous of not having the ability to be who they want to be without disappointing their families," said Andy.

"Wow," said Sirius under his breath. "I never knew anyone could think like that. And understand the mind of a pureblood so well."

"Well I had a really good teacher," said Andy offhandedly. Just then a new song began to start up.

"I guess so," nodded Sirius in agreement.

"Hmm…I like this song," said Andy as she heard the first few notes.

"So why not go dance?" asked Sirius.

"Well if I did that then you'd be all alone," said Andy coyly with an eyebrow raised.

"Who said I wouldn't come with?" said Sirius looking directly at her.

"Huh?" said Andy with both eyebrows raised.

Sirius then got up from his seat and walked over to Andy's side. "Care to dance?" he said as he held out his hand.

"You're kidding right?"

"Does it look like I am?" said Sirius smoothly.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance?" she said as she cocked her head to her side.

"I've have a few moves you haven't seen," he said with a smile as he wiggled his eyebrows.

Andy looked at him for a moment and decided that one dance couldn't hurt. After all they were in Paris to have a good time. "Wait a sec," she said before she took a hold of his hand. She then took the glass and swallowed the last mouthful of her drink. "To numb the pain my feet will endure," she commented as he gave her a strange look.

Sirius simply rolled his eyes as he took a hold of Andy's hand. "Come on." The two of them headed back down toward the dance floor and began to sway to the music that had a slight Spanish-like beat.

_Since the moment I spotted you _

_Like walking round with little wings on my shoes _

_My stomach's filled with the butterflies... and it's alright _

_Bouncing round from cloud to cloud _

_I got the feeling like I'm never going to come down _

_If I said I didn't like it then you know I'd lied _

Sirius began to twirl Andy around lead her into a little sexy mambo-like dance. Andy was a needless to say surprise at Sirius's moves, and at first was having a little trouble keeping up with him.

_Every time I try to talk to you _

_I get tongue-tied_

_Seems like everything _

_I say to you _

_Comes out wrong and never comes out right _

"Where'd you learn to dance like this?" she asked as he span her away from himself and then back.

"Spent a summer in Spain. Met a few people and I learned what you are seeing," he said as the two continued to move to the beat close together.

"So what you're saying is that you learned to dance to try to impress a girl you met while in Spain," said Andy as she looked up at Sirius, knowing it was true.

"Possibly. Do you think it worked on her?" he asked as he dipped Andy into a small roll.

"Possibly," said Andy once she was back facing him.

_So I'll say 'why don't you and I get together and take on the world _

_and be together forever _

_Heads we will and tails we'll try again _

_So I say why don't you and I hold each other and fly to the moon _

_and straight on to heaven _

_Cause without you they're never going to let me in _

The two of them continued to dance along with the music, slightly oblivious to what was going around them. But soon the song ended and led to another that also had a Spanish-like beat. But this time it was much slower. Sirius and Andy saw people begin to slow there pace down and getting extremely close to one another.

"We don't have to if…" said Andy, as she looks Sirius.

"I don't mind," he said cutting her off. Andy slightly bit her lip as she took a hold of Sirius's hand and placed the other on his shoulder, while he placed his on her waist.

_I have been in love and been alone _

_I have traveled over many miles to find a home _

_there's that little place inside of me that _

_I never thought could take control of everything but now _

_I just spend all my time with anyone _

_who makes me feel the way she does _

_'Cause I only feel alive_

_when I dream at night _

_even though she's not real it's all right _

_'cause I only feel alive_

_when I dream at night _

_every move that she makes holds my eyes _

_and I fall for her every time_

"Awww…look at that," said Marissa who had rejoined her other friends and were now looking over the dance floor. "They look so cute together," she added as the rest of the group watched Sirius twirl Andy around.

"I think he's really taken with her," commented a black haired witch.

"Yeah…that's what I'm afraid of," snorted Jen as she too watched on.

"Why do you say that Jen?" asked a tall red head.

"Because Sirius Black is a womanizer. He can make pretty much any girl fall under his spell," spat Jen.

"Sounds like have some experience with him," said Marissa.

"Not personally," said Jen. "But a lot of my friends back at Hogwarts did. He shows a slight interest in a girl and they're hooked. Falling madly for him. But once he shows interest in another girl, he'll drop the one he's with faster than a hot potato. Leaving her heart broken, hurt, and alone."

"That may be true," said Marissa, "but your sister is a smart girl. Plus she already knows what he's like, and has hated him for years. I doubt she's going to fall for him overnight."

"Yeah, your right," said Jen half-heartedly. _'I just hope if she is falling she isn't falling blindly.'_

* * *

After a few more dances Sirius and Andy decided that it was time to head back to school, before one of the professor's found out that they had been gone all day. They said good-bye to everyone and headed off back to Hogwarts.

"That was a blast!" said Andy in a low voice as she and Sirius walked back to the common room.

"Oh, hey what about that guy…" started Sirius.

"With the cowboy hat and the bright purple shirt? Oh he was hilarious!" chuckled Andy, causing Sirius to do the same.

"This was an interesting day," remarked Sirius after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah, I guess," said Andy aloofly.

"You guess?" inquired Sirius with a quizzical look on his face.

"Blackie, can I ask you something?" said Andy as she stopped a few feet from the portrait of the fat lady.

"Sure."

"Before when we were talking about families and mudbloods and all…"

"Yeah, what about it?" said Sirius not sure where she was going with this.

"Well it occurred to me that after all these years of us fighting and calling each other names, you never called me a mudblood. Why?"

"I don't know," he said as he ran a tired hand through the back of his head. "I just didn't."

"Sirius, you can tell me the truth," she said as she looked into his eyes.

"I just never thought of you like that," he said with a shrug as he turned away from her. "Also…I don't know. I guess I thought that…people would see me…like they see my family. Just another pureblood picking on others."

"Hey," she said as turned him back towards her and held onto his arms. "You are not like them. Yes, you can be cruel and vindictive, but you do those things because it's who you are. Not for personal gain or to uphold some ridiculous stereotype. It's a part of your personality, and it makes you human."

"Thanks…for see me like that," said Sirius with a half smile. Andy nodded at his reply and looked deeply into his eyes. She could start to feel herself lose a little bit of control. At that moment, she leaned up kissed him softly on the cheek, near the corner of his mouth.

"Thank you for seeing me like that," she said copying his own words.

"You're welcome," said Sirius in a low voice. He could feel himself being pulled toward Andy…especially towards her soft pink lips.

"Aww…ickle young love," said a voice from above them. "So disgusting." Both of them startled by the voice looked up and saw that the resident poltergeist was floating above them.

"The only thing I see that is disgusting is a certain little poltergeist," spat Andy, getting slightly annoyed.

"Ooohh…I'm so scared," cackled Peeves. Sirius gave Andy, and she caught on as to what he wanted to do.

"Oh look Blackie, if it isn't the Bloody Baron," said Andy happily as she pointed down the hallway behind Peeves.

"What?" said Peeves with a shocked look on his face.

"Peeves you little ingrate!" boomed the voice of the Bloody Baron. "Com out and face me like a man!"

"Eek!" squeaked Peeves before he disappeared before them.

"Not bad Black," comment Andy as she looked over at Sirius.

"Why than.." said Sirius with the voice of the Bloody Baron. He then used his wand again to return his voice back to normal. "Thank you."

With that the two of them continued on toward the common room quietly. Once they were inside, after waking the Fat Lady, Andy noticed James and Lily a sleep on the floor. "Whoa, wait," whispered Andy as she grabbed a hold of the back Sirius's shirt.

"What?" whispered Sirius. She then pointed over toward James and Lily on the floor. "Oh!"

The two of them silently moved back toward the porthole and hugged the wall as they watched their friends wake up. They saw James brush a strand of hair out of Lily's face and two of them staring at each other with James' hand still on her face. Slowly their heads began to lean in closer to one another. It was then that Andy noticed James's cloak on the back of the chair. She slowly pulled out her wand and called for the cloak, which silently flew into her hand. She then threw the material over Sirius and herself and continued to watch them. But suddenly James stopped and looked over in there direction.

"What is it?" said a sleepy Lily.

"I thought I heard something," said James, looking back at her. "Probably just the wind or one of the ghosts."

Lily nodded in agreement and noticed the time on the clock. "I guess wee should say goodnight then. It's almost three."

"Yeah, we should," said James softly looking at Lily again.

"Goodnight James. Thanks again for letting me tag along," said Lily softly looking up at him.

"The pleasure was all mine…Lily," he said in a strange voice. With that said, Lily's cheeks flushed a bit and she then felt his lips on top of her forehead, not the way a friend would kiss her…but in another kind of way.

"Goodnight Lily. Sweet dreams," he said softly. Lily nodded still stunned slightly at his actions. Both of them got up and began to straighten the room. Lily had extinguished the fire in the hearth, while James cleaned up the floor a bit. The two of them departed to their rooms thinking about what almost happened a few moments ago.

Once they heard the doors to the dorms close, Sirius pulled off the cloak revealing the both of them to the darken room.

"He was so close!" whispered Sirius harshly.

"I know," sighed a frustrated Andy. "Damn his hearing."

"Well you know what this means?" said Sirius with a sly grin.

"What?" said Andy as she rubbed her tired eyes.

"It won't be too long before they finally crack," said Sirius.

"I don't know. I've got a funny feeling about those two," said Andy as she looked up at the dorms.

"Like what? What could possibly happen?" said Sirius.

"I don't know. But I've got this feeling that something's going to happen to them that could mess up our plans," replied Andy as looked directly at Sirius.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I'm not J.K. Rowling. I only own this story and the characters I made up. Also I did not the three songs in this story. They belong to Britney Spears and Madonna, Santana, and Marc Anthony.


	29. Reflections

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Reflections**

Sunday morning came sleepily greeting the old castle with lazy sunrays hidden among the clouds. Most of the student population rose in the early morning to get a jump start on the day…but mostly to finish assignments they had left to the last minute and begin studying for the midterm exams that were fast approaching.

As eleven o'clock came around, the most of the girls in the sixth year Gryffindor dorm were busy doing their own various things. Two of the girls were down in the common room going about their own business. Kelly was reading a rather long letter she had received that morning from her boyfriend, Braden Wood. While Felicia was reading up on her latest issue of Teen Witch. As for the other two girls, they could be found up in their room. Lily was sitting quietly on her bed as she finished up on some reading she had planned on working on yesterday. Andy on the other hand was still curled up in her bed slowly beginning to wake up.

"Hmmm…" she moaned as she let out a silent yawn and stretched like a cat in her bed before she sat up on the edge of her mattress. "Man what a night," she said aloud to herself sleepily as she headed toward the loo.

"So where were you last night?" said a loud voice to Andy's left. The sudden sound of her best friend's voice startled Andy a bit.

"Holy Sh…Merlin Lils. Can you be any more loud?" said Andy with her hand over her chest as she tried to regain her breath.

"I can if I try," said Lily offhandedly. "So?"

"So what?" inquired Andy as she headed off to the bathroom.

"You haven't answered me. Where were you?" called Lily from her bed.

"Didn't you get my note?" called Andy from the bathroom.

"Yes."

"So you knew where I was," said Andy as she finished up in the bathroom.

"Yes, but…not who you were with. So tell me whom did you go with," said Lily as she made her way over to were the bathroom door was. A few seconds later Andy opened the door giving Lily a perplexed look.

"What makes you think I was with someone?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because there is no way you could have gotten from here to Paris and back again in one day without some form of help from someone," said Lily plainly.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," muttered Andy as she made her way over to her trunk to pull out some clothes for the day.

"Why won't you tell me?" asked Lily.

"Because there is nothing to tell, Lily. Besides who died and made you my mother?" snapped Andy.

"Oh man," said Lily under breath.

"What?" asked Andy as she came out from behind the screen fully clothed.

"This must be big, if you are this quiet about your little holiday. It isn't anything illegal is it, Andy?" asked a slightly worried Lily.

"Depends on your definition of what 'illegal' is?" said Andy after a moment of thought.

"Miranda!"

"Relax Evans," giggled Andy at the look on her friend's face. "I'm not going to get caught and thrown into prison, and neither is the one I went with." When she said that, she kinda regretted saying it, because it gave Lily a little bit of information that she didn't really want to get to. Luckily she remembered about what almost happened last night between her two friends and decided to quickly steer this conversation to another subject.

"Besides…it seems to me that I wasn't the only one who was out late last night," said Andy with a smirk. Lily gave a perplex look before her eyes widen a bit at the thought that popped into her head.

'_Did she see James and I together last night?'_

"I don't know what you are talking about," said Lily, plainly trying to play it cool.

"Uhh huh…sure," nodded Andy sarcastically. "You know you are the worst liar I've ever met."

"I am not," said Lily hotly.

Andy chose to ignore her comment and continue on. "Come on Lily. Fess up. Who were you with in the wee hours of the morning?"

"How do you even know I was out last night?" inquired Lily.

"Because when I walked in this morning, I tripped over your slippers and they were still warm from wearing," said Andy quickly, hoping her friend would believe her slight fib. But from the look on her friend's face, she did believe her. "So come on. Who was he?"

"No one," said Lily angrily. She was getting tired of this little spat, quickly. Lily then turned and sat back down on her bed and started to pick up where she left off on her reading.

"On come on," exclaimed Andy as she rolled her eyes in frustration. "Was it Everett?"

"No," said Lily not looking up from her book.

"Snape?" she continued.

"Eww…please!"

"James?" said Andy with a smirk.

Lily's head shot up from her book and stared daggers as her best friend. "I'm not going to even respond to that comment," she said darkly.

"Okay Lil," chuckled Andy as she raised her hands in surrender. "What ever you say," she added as she turned from her friend and walked out of the room with a smirk on her face.

* * *

In the sixth year boy's dorm, the marauders were busy lulling about trying to ignore the sounds that were emitting from their one friend's bed. Peter was trying to finish up his letter to his mother but found it so difficult to concentrate that he had gone through several drafts of parchments. Remus on the other hand was reading his potions book, getting ready for finals with cotton balls stuck in his ears. As for James, he was found lying on his back playing catch with a little gold ball and looking over toward Sirius's bed every now and then.

With a great snort, Sirius began to wake up fully and sat up in his bed rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Good afternoon, sunshine," said James drawly as he looked over at his clock that now read a little after the noon hour. "Sleep well?"

"Actually, I did, dear," yawned Sirius as he got up and stretched out his muscles.

"Urgh, it's about time you got up," said Remus as he pulled out the wads of cotton in his ears. "I don't know if my ears could have stand your snoring any longer."

Sirius mumbled a rude comment to his friend, which caused James to laugh a bit.

"You can thank me later for not letting Moony here stuff a rag into your mouth," said James.

"Ah. Okay then," Sirius yawned as he made his way over to the bathroom with his clothes in hand. About twenty minutes later, Sirius emerged fully dressed, with his hair still wet from his shower. When he walked in he noticed the air seemed a bit off in the room

"What?" he asked as he looked at each of his friends who hadn't moved at all.

"Nothing," said James with a shrug. Sirius gave him a skeptical look as he walked over to his own bed.

"You're not going to tell us?" squeaked Peter. James then took the ball that was in his hand and threw it at Peter's head, hitting him in the forehead. "OW!"

"Excuse me?" asked Sirius looking at Peter, who was now rubbing his head. Sirius then looked at his other two friends for a moment before Remus opened his mouth.

"Well…it's not everyday you sleep in until noon," said Remus, trying to come up with the best way to go about asking him the question that was going through their minds.

"Plus you did pull a disappearing act on us and your girlfriend as well," said Peter quickly.

"So?" asked Sirius not sure what was going on.

"So…fess up man! Where the bloody hell were you yesterday?" said James with a chuckle.

"Nowhere special," said Sirius with a shrug. "I just took the bike out for one last ride, before it got to cold."

"Why didn't you ask us to go?" said Peter a little miffed.

"Wormtail, why do you even care?" said James. "It's not like you'd get a chance to ride it after what happened over the summer. But come to think of it…" he said as he turned back to his best mate, "why didn't you tell us about it?"

"I just needed some time to myself. You know…think things out," said Sirius looking James directly in the eyes with a smirk on his face.

"I see," said James slowly, dropping the subject at hand. He knew right then that whatever Sirius was hiding from all of them was something big…and it was slowly changing him for the better.

* * *

After a late lunch, the girls spent some time in the common room working on their homework. About an hour or so later, Felicia closed her transfiguration book and stretched out her arms over her head.

"Hmmm…I don't know about you," she said breaking the silence of their little group, "but I'm up for a trip to Hogsmeade for some butterbeer."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Andy as she finished up her essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts. "Lil? Kel?"

"Sure, I'm up for a trip," said Kelly as she closed her book.

"Mmm…not me," said Lily. "I have to finish up on some homework."

Kelly looked over her shoulder and saw that she was working on her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay that was due the next day.

"Excuse me...did I hear you right?" said Kelly.

"Are you telling us," said Felicia, "that the perfect Ms. Evans has left her homework unfinished until the night before it's due!"

"I don't believe it! It's the end of the world as we know it," said Andy with a fake sob.

"Oh put a sock in it you three," chuckled Lily at Andy's display. "It's not like I do it all the time like some people," she said as she glared at Felicia.

"Well…" started Felicia.

"Ah, Felicia let it go," said Kelly. "She's won this round." With that the girls headed up to their room and grabbed their coats. When they came back down, Andy went back over to the table to pick up bag that held some of her books so she could catch up on some reading.

"We'll bring back some butterbeer for you," she said with a smirk. "That is if you behave while we're gone."

Lily simply gave her a look before a smirk broke out on her face.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Lily could still be found in the common room huddled over one of her textbooks. She had grabbed a quick bite to eat before the rest of the students headed down for dinner. By the time she got back to the common room, the tower was quickly becoming empty as everyone filed down to dinner.

Lily found solitude in the newfound silence of the tower. She had finally finished her homework that was due in the beginning part of the week, and was now studying for her exams. Every now and then her mind would travel off to what almost happened the previous night in the same room she was now in. Lily would slightly shake her head in hopes to rid herself of the images so she could concentrate on her what was in front of her.

"Hi Lily," said a voice from behind her. She jumped a bit before she turned and was greeted with James's smiling face.

"Hi James," she said softly as she felt a little hint of heat in her cheeks.

"Uhh…where's everyone? You're friends I mean. I didn't see them down at dinner," he said looking around the table.

"Hogsmeade," she said simply before turning back toward her book. "They went to get some butterbeer."

"Ah…" replied James not knowing what else to say. "So…how've you been?"

"Fine…" she said with a shrug as she continued to read her book. "Yourself?"

"Good," said James. He was a little hurt by the cold shoulder he was now receiving from the girl he had in his arms only a few hours before. But that wasn't going to stop him from asking her the thoughts that had been plaguing him since it happened.

"Eh…Lily?"

"Yes?" she said.

"Ah…there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

"Uh huh?"

"It's…about last night and…well…what almost happened," he cautiously, as his noticed that his hands were now feeling a bit sweaty.

Lily stopped her read and looked up at James who was now at her side. She could see that his was really nervous about the subject as was she…but for some reason, she couldn't help but think how adorable he looked at that moment. It was then that she remembered seeing this look in his eyes before. The look he got whenever he was going to ask her out.

"Oh…uh…James, listen if you think that we could…uh…" stuttered as she motioned for him to take a seat next to her.

"Lily," chuckled James knowing what she was getting at. "don't worry, I'm not going to ask you out. Trust me…I've learned my lesson awhile ago."

"Oh!" she replied relieved, but a little bit hurt at the same time. "Then what did you want to talk about it for?"

"Well…I just want to make sure that we're clear on some things. I mean…well…okay we've been hanging out a lot. What with the whole assignment and all."

"Uh huh…" nodded Lily.

"And we've gotten to know each other a bit better."

"James, you're babbling. What are you trying to get at?" asked Lily.

"Are we friends?" asked James quickly, hoping to lessen the shock.

Lily sat there for a moment contemplating her answer. "Umm…well…yes. I think we are…friends."

James nodded in understanding. It was then that he got the courage to ask the second question he hoped deep down that she would answer the way he dreamed about. "And what happened last night was just…a…fluke?"

Lily couldn't help but stare at the hazel eyes behind his glasses. She felt that all too familiar feeling of being drawn to them. She felt confused as an inner battle began to form within. Her heart was fighting against her brain to gain control of what it wanted to say, but in the end, her head won control of her voice.

"Yeah…it was just a fluke incident," said Lily quietly.

Okay then," replied James as he hung his head a bit and let out a deep sigh that Lily took as a sign of relief.

"Thanks for clearing that up. That's all I wanted to know. Sorry for bothering you. I'll let you get back to your work," he added as he got up and began to walk toward the stairs that led to his dorm.

"Okay," said Lily softly. She watched as James walked away from her and up to his room. At that moment she had this sudden feeling that she needed to tell him something…_anything_…before it was too late.

"James?" she called as she shot up from her seat to stop him.

James had just put his foot on the first step when he heard Lily's voice. He spun around to find her out of her chair and only a few feet from her with a look on her face that he could read.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"I…I really did have fun with you yesterday. It's the most fun I've had in awhile. I…just…wanted to thank you again for letting me tag along and spend the day with you," she mustered up at the last minute.

A small grin formed in the corner of James's mouth upon hearing her words. "The pleasure was all mine, Lily. See you later, Evans." With that, he hurried up the stairs to his room.

"Yeah…see ya," she answered, left now with only a mixture of confusing thoughts.

* * *

"Do you think we brought back enough?" mumbled Karen as heaved a small slightly heavy bag out from the tunnel from behind a mirror.

"Oh, Karen would you cool it already? We have enough," said Andy as she walked out from behind the mirror to met up with Felicia and Kelly who were holding the mirror open.

"Yeah now let's go before someone see us," said Kelly as she closed the mirror and the four of them began to head back to the common room, before curfew was enforced.

"Sees what?" said a voice from behind the group of girls. All the girls jumped a bit with Karen and Kelly letting out a small scream from being startled. Standing behind them were Sirius, Remus, and Peter. All of which were holding some sweets they had taken from dinner.

"Ah…geez Black! Could you _be _anymore creepy?" said a slightly ticked Kelly.

"Oh I don't know. Maybe if I tried hard enough," replied Sirius lightheartedly.

Kelly was about to make some snide remark, but Andy held her back. "Kel, don't. You'll just be wasting your breath."

"Hi sweetie," said Felicia as she went up to him and gave him a hug and kiss. "Where were you yesterday? I missed you."

Sirius gave her another kiss on the lips before he answered. "Sorry love. I some things to work out. Just needed to get out and clear my head for a bit."

Andy watched them both, and felt a little strange in the pit of her stomach, but when she heard Sirius telling Felicia about where he was, a slight smirk spread across her lips.

"Oh, I thought maybe you were out with some other girl," said Kelly out of reflex. Felicia stared daggers at her friend for her remark. Kelly ignored her friend and looked to Andy for some form of encouragement. Andy hesitated for a moment but quickly recovered with a normal remark.

"Huh? What's this, Blackie? You're already off to your next flavor of the week? Geez that didn't take long," sneered Andy. She slightly hoped no one noticed her hesitation in her comment, but unfortunately one person did.

"Andy, please!" sighed Felicia not wanting to get into the middle of another fight with her friends about her boyfriend.

"Sorry. I know," said Andy as she held up her hands in defeat. "Old habits die hard."

Felicia nodded in understanding, before she turned back toward her boyfriend. Remus had gone over to where Karen was and gave her a small kiss on the cheek and talked secretly with her.

"You know…if you need someone to talk to, I'm always available to lend an ear," said Felicia to her beau.

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," said Sirius smoothly as he wrapped his arms around her and stared into her eyes.

"Urgh…" grunted Andy as she rolled her eyes at the display before her. "And on that note I think I'll be off."

"Where are you off to?" asked Karen.

"Astronomy tower," replied Andy. "I need to finish up on that worksheet."

"Hey, I'll go with you," said Remus. "I need to finish off mine as well." He then pulled out the rolled up parchment from his robe pocket.

"Sure…Remus," said Andy. Andy said her good-byes to her friends, Peter, and a curt nod to Sirius, while Remus gave Karen a good-bye hug and told his friends he's be back later.

"So how are things going with you, Lupin?" asked Andy as the two of them waited for one of the staircases to return to its original origin.

"Ah, same old, same old. Just trying to make it through the next couple of days," he replied as the staircase returned and settled down.

"Why's that?" she asked. After a few seconds she remembered that the full moon was coming up and mentally kicked herself in the behind. "Oh…uh…never mind."

"It's okay, you know" chuckled Remus at the look on Andy's face. "It's not like I'm going to turn into one right this minute."

"I know," said Andy a little off.

"_I know_," mimicked Remus. Andy couldn't help but giggle at this icebreaker.

"Shut up, you little prat," giggled Andy as she playfully hit him in the shoulder.

"Little? Nah, I'd consider myself to be a little taller than average height," he chimed.

"You always have to be serious one, don't you Remus?" said Andy as she shook her head.

"No, usually I'm madder than my friends combined," he said lightheartedly.

"Hmm…I don't know about that. Your friend Potter could give you a run for your money. Not to mention that your other friend Black isn't all complete up there if you get my drift," said Andy playfully.

"Yeah that is true about Sirius," agreed Remus. "So how are you with my witty friend?"

"Is he alive?" asked Andy.

"Yes."

"Then that should be a good enough answer for you," replied Andy with a raised eyebrow.

"I meant are you getting along with him?" said Remus in a business tone.

"For the most part yes. Why all the questions?" she said curiously.

"No reason," he replied with a shrug. Andy watched him for a moment and knew he was holding something back.

"_Remus_?" she said in a warning tone.

"Well…Karen and I have been noticing you two spending a bit of time together," he confessed.

"Well yeah, you would. We've been trying to finish up our…" started Andy.

"Transfiguration project. Yes, I know. But it seems to me that you two have become close," said Remus. Andy stopped for a moment in her tracks to listen to his words.

"So close that one might believe you were friends if they didn't know your history," he added.

"Sirius and I have come to an understanding…for now," said Andy after a few moments. "After this year, who knows how'll we'll act toward each other."

"Okay. But you know, it is okay for you actually like the bloke as a friend," said Remus.

"I'll take it under consideration. But don't be praying for any miracles any time soon," said Andy lightheartedly.

* * *

The rest of the group headed back toward the Gryffindor common room, to part takes in the girl's beverages. But with the displays of affection that Sirius and Felicia were showing, the rest of the group decided to call it a night. Karen headed back to her common room to finish up on her essay, while the rest went into the common room. They noticed that the common room was filled with students studying for their classes. Felicia and Sirius were able to find a spot over in the corner, while Kelly, who was now carrying the drinks, headed up to her room and met Lily up there. Peter also went up to his room, seeing as there was no one to really talk too.

"Sirius?" said Felicia after a few minutes of playful teasing.

"Yes, Felicia?"

"Is there something you're not telling me?" she asked. Sirius gave her a puzzling look, to which she clarified her question. "I mean is everything alright with us?"

"Yes. Why do you think there is something wrong?" he inquired.

"No reason," she said with a half-hearted smile. "Just forget about it." Sirius knew better. He knew that she was slightly plagued with the ideas that Kelly had said earlier. Although Kelly was partly true, there was another girl now in his life, but there was nothing romantic about it, at least in his mind. They were just…friends now…no more…no less. But his heart on the other hand told a different story. Although he'd never admit to anyone now, he'd grown quite fond of Andy's presence and enjoyed spending time with her. But it wasn't as if he were falling for her. '_It's just an infatuation_.' he told himself. '_You're really in love with girl you are with now_.'

"Felicia," he said after a few moments of silence.

"Yes?" she said as she looked up at him. At that moment he captured her lips in long sensual kiss.

"I'm sorry if I've been acting like a prat. I promise I'll try to make it up to you," he whispered into her ear.

"All I need is you," she said softly as she kissed him back hungry for more. At that moment, Sirius felt a little pushed by his girlfriend's actions. He also had the sudden urge to get up and leave her.

"Hold that thought, love," he said as he pulled away from her.

"Why?" said a slight frustrated Felicia.

"I have to finish an essay for Defense class," lied Sirius.

"Oh," said a disappointed Felicia.

"After finals," he simply said. "Then we can do all the snogging you want."

"Okay then," she said a little happy. Sirius then got up from where he was and started heading toward the portrait. "Where are you off too?"

"Library," he answered. "I need to look something up really quick. I'll see you later, Felicia."

Sirius took a little stroll through the castle enjoying the temporary solitude. He could help but think about what had just happened a little while ago. He had a beautiful girl that he cared a lot about in his arms, and now where was he? Wondering around a cold dark castle alone with his thoughts. But the part that kept haunting him was when he was kissing Felicia. He felt slightly cramped and annoyed with being around her. '_I must have caught something while in Paris with Andy_,' he thought. At that moment, he saw Remus down one of the corridors heading back to Gryffindor tower. A few minutes later, Sirius found himself heading down the hallway toward the direction of the Astronomy tower.

When he reached the tower, he saw that Andy was in the classroom sitting on the windowsill, next to the door that led to the observation roof. From the looks of it, she was lost in her own thoughts. After a few moments, she must have sensed someone was there, for she looked over and saw him standing in the middle of the classroom with. He saw a small smile spread across her face.

"Thought I'd still find you up here," he said playfully.

"Thought you'd be off snogging the hell out of my friend," she replied in the same playful tone.

Sirius slightly cringed that the thought. "That's…for later."

"I see," said a slightly surprised Andy. "Do I sense a bit of hostility in your voice?"

"No!" said Sirius quickly. "I'm just…"

"Just what?" she inquired.

"Feeling…a…little cramped with her at the moment," he replied.

"You mean with all the questions and her wanting to do all the cuddly couple things?" asked Andy with her arms folded in front of her.

"Exactly! It's…it's like she doesn't trust me," said a frustrated Sirius.

"Well she shouldn't," said Andy simply. Sirius shot her a perplex look. "You didn't exactly tell her the truth about where you were yesterday or where you go off to in the middle of the night. Whether full moon or not."

"Do you want me to tell her about our meetings and what we are doing?" he asked, a little confused as to what she was getting at.

"No! Are you mad! She'd flip out and I'd never hear the end of it," stated Andy.

"I see," said Sirius deciding to play with Andy's head a bit. He started to look at her as he does when he flirts with the girls in school.

"Don't look at me like that," said Andy as she rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Why?" said Sirius a little playfully.

"Because that look doesn't work on me, remember? I've seen all your tricks," she stated.

"Right." After a few moments of silence, he decided to change the subject, to one of their other favorite topics.

"So what do you think Lily would have done if Prongs had kissed her?" he inquired.

"She'd probably would have slapped him," chuckled Andy.

"Really? I would have thought she would have liked it," said a surprised Sirius. "I mean she was his first kiss and all."

"What?" said a shocked Andy. "You're kidding, right?"

"Afraid not."

"Wow. I never knew that," said an amazed Andy.

"So who was yours?" asked Sirius.

"My what?" said Andy with a raise eyebrow.

"Kiss. Who was your first kiss?"

"Oh no. No, I'm not getting into that discussion," said Andy as she shook her head and tried to get around Sirius.

"Why not? Was he that bad?" said a now highly intrigued Sirius.

"No, he wasn't. He was...why am I even saying this. No I don't want to talk about it," said Andy as she pushed him out of the way and went over to the desk that she left her bag on.

"Ahhh...so he was that good?"

Andy stopped in the middle of repacking her books and gave him a look. "You're not going to stop are you?"

"Hmm...nope," he said thoughtfully.

"Fine," she said in frustration that soon disappeared as she remembered her first kissing experienced. "It was good. Really, really good," she blushed

"Who was he?" he asked as he watched her face turn an adorable shade of pink.

"Tommy Robinson," she said simply. "It was back when I was a first year over in America. He was a second year and was on the J.V. Quidditch team with me. I had the biggest crush on him. Anyways...one night before the end of the school year, we were flying around having a quick pick up game, and then we got to talking about things. So one thing led to another, and he leaned in and kissed me. God I can't believe I said that."

"So it was an older guy. You little harlot," he said jokingly as he rested against the window ledge.

"I try," she said playfully. "Okay, your turn."

"Oh no," said Sirius with his hands up in protest.

"Aw, come on. I told you mine," whined Andy.

"No, trust me you don't want to know," protested Sirius.

"Please. I promise I won't laugh," said Andy with a little pout. Sirius shook his head no and kept his mouth shut.

"Fine then. Be a punk then," she replied angrily. She then quickly packed up the last of her things and zipped up her bag roughly before she threw it over her shoulder and made for the door.

"It was during third year. After the match against Ravenclaw," he said suddenly.

Andy stopped and looked back at him. He was still leaning against the window ledge looking down at the ground now. She then walked over to where he was and sat on the desk in front of him.

"And?" inquired Andy. "Was she older? A Hufflepuff? Someone with scales?"

"No. She wasn't a Hufflepuff, and she didn't have scales," said Sirius against his will. "She's younger than me."

"So what happened?"

"Nothing spectacular. We met in a classroom and I kissed her," he said bluntly.

"Geez…it must have been some kiss," said Andy with wide eyes.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well it had to have been for you to make up a lame arse story like that," she said plainly. "Can I have the real one this time."

"You really want to know?" he asked. Andy nodded slightly not sure if this was such a good idea after all.

"It was in the common room and it was really late. I'd just got done with setting up a prank for Snivellus and Malfoy. Everyone was already up in bed when I walked in except for this girl, who was somewhat of a pain. She was passed out on the couch. So I started to head up until I realized it was around the time, McGonagall usually came in to make sure everyone was in their bed. So I figured it wasn't really right for someone to get yelled at by her, especially that early in the morning, even if it was this girl." he said with a slight shrug. "Well I went over to wake her up. She must have been dreaming, because she looked so peaceful and kind cute with her blond hair all messed up. Anyways, I tried to wake her up. She sort of opened her eyes and must of thought I was someone else. The next thing I know she pulled me down to her and kissed me pretty...thoroughly. It ah, it was kinda okay. But then afterwards she realized what she did, and ran up to her room." He saw the surprised look on Andy's face as he continued looking directly at her. "We never spoke about it again, and we're the only ones who know what happened.

After a few moment of silence, Andy blinked rapidly before she spoke. "Sirius I…"

"It's getting late," he said quickly. "I guess I should leave first. See you later, Sparky."

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I only own this story and the characters I made up.


	30. One Day I'll Fly Away

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Thirty: One Day I'll Fly Away**

The next morning, everyone began to feel the pressure of mid-year finals come up. Before anyone knew it, finals were here and hitting the students hard inside the walls of the school. Outside of Hogwarts, a huge blizzard struck the school the week of finals. As everyone worried over exams, a few students managed to find some fun in the pool of chaotic seriousness.

On the night before everyone would be taking their first exams, James, Sirius, and Peter had some how managed to have several dozen firecrackers go off in the library, the great hall, and every common room precisely at eleven thirty at night. As the firecrackers went off, several hundred different red, green, gold, and white streamers littered the rooms along with balloons and confetti.

"How is it that you were able to pull it off," asked Felicia to her boyfriend while she laid across the couch.

"Aww…love, you know a great wizard never reveals his secrets," said Sirius with a grin, as he looked up at Felicia from the floor.

"He bribed the house elves and had them plant the firecrackers," said Andy suddenly without looking up from her Transfiguration book as she sat in one of her favorite comfy chairs. "And the expression is 'a great _magician _never reveals his secrets', Blackie," she added.

"I'm sorry did anyone ask you for your remarks, Sparky?" said Sirius playfully. Andy simply pulled out her wand and pointed her wand at Sirius's head, stilling reading her Transfiguration book.

"Okay, okay, I get the hint," stated Sirius before turning back to his Defense Against the Dark Arts book.

Lily tried to mask the giggle that wanted to be let out, as she sat next to her friend in one of the other comfy chairs. At the same time, she looked over toward the fireplace where James was sitting next to the hearth, suppressing a laugh as well. James suddenly had the feeling of being watched when he looked over at Lily. He gave her a smile that caused her stomach to feel different. As if she had swallowed a jar of butterflies. She smiled back at him before she turned back to the book in her lap.

'_Why does that happen when ever he smiles at me like that? It's not like I fancy him or anything. He's just a friend. Nothing more and nothing less. Yes…that's all it is. So it should be easy to stop thinking about him. Merlin there I go again! Come on Lily. You need to concentrate on your studies and not James…I mean…Potter.'_ thought Lily to herself. She shook her head slightly to rid herself of thoughts of James and went back to studying for her exams.

By the end of the exam week, everyone was almost completely burnt out and greatly welcomed the Christmas break. Thanks to Professor Flickworth, the students were able to make there way from the castle to the train station so they could go home for the holiday. Some of the students did stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas holiday. Among them were Lily, Karen, Andy, James and Sirius. The five of them didn't really spend that much time together as a whole, until Christmas day.

As Christmas morning arrived, James was awakened to the sudden spurts of water hitting him the face.

"What the bloody hell…" he mumbled as he opened his eyes to find Sirius hold a small muggle water gun pointed right at his head.

"Time to wake up, Prongs," said Sirius brightly.

"Where did you get that?" asked James as he put on his glass and stretched out his limbs.

"Moony gave this to me as a present. It looks as if he gave you one as well," said Sirius before he climbed back into his bed where a pile of presents laid at the foot of his bed. "Happy Christmas, James!"

"Happy Christmas, Padfoot," said James as he saw his own pile of presents at his foot of the bed.

He began to open them all one by one and saw that Remus had indeed sent him a muggle water gun along with a book on different flying tricks for advanced flyers. As he opened up the rest of his presents he found that his parents had sent him a couple of new sweaters and a gold pocket watch that would tell the correct time and where all his loved ones were, to which he could add more hands to by simply pointing his wand at it and think of the name he wanted in it. He also had received a new broom servicing kit from Peter, along with some chocolate frogs. Sirius had given him a new supply of dungbombs, along with a variety of other practical joke items. Andy had given him a few cauldron cakes, chocolate frogs, and a few other sweets. She also gave him a new supply of her various magic dusts, along with a book that told him how to create some of her basic powders with a written warning attached to it.

_James,_

_This is for the use of your dastardly marauders at your discretion, with two exceptions. One: You are not to use these works on any of my friends (especially Lily, Kelly, and Karen. Felicia is okay) Two: You are not to let Sirius get a hold of, touch, look, or even breath on this book. (If I find out that he has done any of these, I may be putting a little surprise in your bed and clothes James Potter!)_

_Happy Christmas (and mischief)_

_Love from,_

_Andy _

_(Magical supplier of fellow delinquents) _

James laughed a bit at Andy's note before he went on to his last present. Needless to say that he was surprised to see that it was from Lily. When he opened the fairly large present, he saw that she had given him a starter kit for battling against the Dark Arts. In the kit was a sneakoscope, a small foe fog mirror, and various other Dark Arts detectors.

'_Wow',_ whispered James. He saw that there was a note attached to the present, and quickly read it.

_Dear James,_

_Merry Christmas! I knew from our talks that you were interested in working against the Dark Art. So I figured that this would help you get started. Well…I hope you enjoy this present, and get a good use out of it._

_Your friend,_

_Lily Evans_

Sirius noticed James staring at his present, and couldn't help but laugh silently at look on his friend's face.

"Oy! What did you get there, James?" said Sirius after a few moments of silence.

"Huh? Oh, uh…just a present from Evans," said James as he put it on top of his trunk along with the rest of his presents.

After opening presents in their room, the two of them met the girls down in the great hall and had a wonderful Christmas lunch and dinner with the rest of the students that stayed over, as well as the staff. As an added bonus to the festivities, James and Sirius took it upon themselves to belt out a few carols loudly, trying to impersonate some of the Hogwarts ghosts that usually float around the castle singing merrily. Many of the students and staff enjoyed their little impromptu performance, especially when Lily and Andy charmed their clothes to turn into little green elf outfits (including the pointy shoes with bells), and Karen charmed their voices to make them sound like the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz.

By the end of the fest everyone was grabbing his or her sides from laughing too hard, including Professor Dumbledore. After wiping away of few tears that slipped out from their ducts, Professor Dumbledore waved his hand, causing everything on the tables to disappear and returned James and Sirius to their original state.

* * *

The next day, many of the students slept in before they ventured out onto the grounds for some fun in the snow. By mid-afternoon, Lily could be found alone on the couch in the common room, reading a new book that she had picked up when she was at Hogsmeade.

"Good evening, Ms. Evans," said James from behind Lily.

"Hello James," said Lily, looking up to see his face. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing," he said casually, as he walked around the couch and took a seat on the coffee table in front of Lily. "Just...around. You?"

"Reading if you don't mind?" Lily responded as she went back to her book

"About what?"

"None of your business," she said with an eyebrow raised.

" _'A Journey Into the Clouds'_," said James aloud as he craned his neck to see the title of the book. "I remember that book. I read it when I was eight and got my first broomstick."

"Well good for you," she said nonchalantly.

"So why are you reading a book about flying?" asked a now curious James

"Because it seems interesting to learn about," said Lily with a shrug. She closed her book, since she knew this was going to be a conversation James would want to continue on.

"But you know how to fly. I remember watching you fly around with the rest of us during first years flying lessons."

"Yes…"said Lily as her cheeks turned a slight ting of pink. She sat up more properly to face James before she continued a subject she was not all to eager to discuss. "But if you remember correctly I barely passed. I was one of the worst students in that class. I'm a terrible flyer."

"Oh come on now. That's just rubbish. Everyone knows Pettigrew is the worst flyer," joked James

Lily laughed at his remark for a moment. "You've obviously haven't seen me fly recently."

"Well if you'd like...I could teach you what you're doing wrong," offered James shyly.

Lily smiled at him. The same smile that caused his stomach to do back flips and his heart to swell up into his throat.

"Thanks for the offer, but no thanks," said Lily sincerely. "Besides if Kelly and Andy haven't helped me out by now, I doubt you would succeed."

"Never say never Lils," said James as an evil smirk came across his lips. Before Lily knew it, James had jumped up from his seat and sprinted over to the staircase.

"Huh? Wha-James where are you going?" called Lily.

"You'll see," replied James before he disappeared behind the door to the boy's dormitory. A few moments later, Lily heard him coming down the stairs two broomsticks in his hands and his winter jacket.

"What are those?" asked Lily nervously as she eyed the brooms

"Come on, go and grab your coat," said James ignoring her question. He placed the brooms next to the stone wall as he put his coat on and began to button it up.

"James, what are those?" she asked again.

"Broomsticks. What do you think they are?" said James as if she were mental.

"Why do you have them?" she asked cautiously.

"I'm going to give you a flying lesson," he said brightly.

"Excuse me? Are you mad?" she asked as she gave him a quizzical look.

"Some may think so," James replied with a shrug.

"Do you really think I'm going to flying with you now in the middle of winter?" Lily asked with her arms folded in front of her.

"Yes," he replied simply.

Lily stared at him for a moment out of pure shock. "I was wrong. You're not mad. You're bloody nuts!"

"Come on Evans," said James getting tired of her questions. He pulled out his wand and pointed it toward the girls' dormitory. "Accio Lily's coat." A few seconds later, Lily's coat came flying down the stairs and into James's awaiting hand.

"JAMES!" shouted Lily.

"LILY!" he mimicked. Lily saw that there was no hope in arguing with James on this subject. She reluctantly took her coat and put it on along with her hat and gloves.

"Trust me," said James as he handed over Sirius's broom to her. "Now come on before it gets to late."

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Lily found herself standing in the middle of the frozen Quidditch pit, that she and James were currently thawing part of it out.

"What in the world are we doing out here. It's bloody freezing!" exasperated Lily as she stood on the frozen ground.

"Lily Evans such language," said James as he placed the brooms on the ground.

Lily gave him a look that told him 'now was not the time to test her'. "James couldn't this have waited until it warmed up a bit?"

"Yes, I suppose," said James as he ruffled up his hair a bit. "But when that happens, the pit is booked solid."

"Oh well then," sighed Lily. "What a shame." She quickly turned around and began to head out of the pit before James grabbed a hold of her arm to stop her.

"Nice try there, Evans, but it is not going to work," he said brightly. He then steered her back toward where the brooms were and placed a warming charm on her before doing the same thing to himself.

"Why do you have to be such a wanker?" said Lily looking menacingly at him.

"Part of my personality," he said with a smile, to which Lily rolled her eyes at. "All right now...hold out your hand and say 'up'!"

Lily sighed in frustration as she glared at James. She then stood next to Sirius's broom and held out her hand above it. "Up!" The broom simply gave a feeble roll and stayed on the ground. Lily then looked up at James with a tired look on her face.

"See I told you I was terrible," she said as she walked over the broom and away from James.

"You're too tense," said James as he grabbed a hold of Lily once more and pulled her back toward the broomstick. "You need to relax," he added as he looked into her eyes. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. "Here try this."

He placed her back over to where she was a few moments ago, next to the broom. He placed out her hand over the broom and stood behind her. "Now close your eyes," he said softly next to her ear.

Lily complied as she listened too James's soft voice begin to empower her with something.

"Now imagine yourself someplace warm, like on a tropical island. You're lying on the nice warm sand, listening to waves crash against the shore. You feel at peace with yourself. You feel like you can do anything you set your mind to. As you feel yourself rise above the sand slowly. As the higher you go, the more free you feel," said James as he continued to speak in his soft tone. He could see that Lily was beginning to relax more and more as he continued to talk, which he was still amazed he was still able to do. He had only been this close to her a few times, but every time he got a hint of Lily's fragrance, his mind began to wander away into a world were Lily was his.

"As you continue to climb, you open your eyes and see the beauty around you. And you begin to feel that nothing can go wrong at all. But when you look down…you see a broomstick lying there on the ground. So what do you do? You stick out your hand and say 'up'!"

Lily listened to his words, and began to feel calm again, like she always does when James's is this close to her. She envisioned herself just as James had said, and done what he said. Suddenly, Lily felt something hit her hand as she held on to it. When she opened her eyes, she saw that the broom was now in her hand, ready to take her into the sky.

"See…I told you. You can do anything," said James softly again. Lily looked over her shoulder and was caught under James's spell once more. She felt herself being pulled toward him. James knew where this would lead too quickly. He pulled away from Lily as he went over to get his broom. Lily shook her head a bit, to rid of herself of her confusing thoughts, once she realized James was not next to her anymore.

The rest of the lesson went as it had gone when they were in first year. James told her to mount her broom and kick off from the ground and hover in the air a bit. She did as he said, but ended up going a bit to high than she would have liked. But unlike before in first year, James was there to quickly grab a hold of her broom to steady her, and lowered her back to ground. Just low enough for her feet to barely touch the ground. They flew around the thawed out part of the pit for a bit, until Lily was able to do it on her own. She was able to get a good foot off the ground and fly around without James's guidance. In all her years at Hogwarts, she had never felt as happy in the schools Quidditch pit as she did at that moment.

James couldn't help but smile at Lily's progress and how happy she looked. When he looked at his watch, he saw that they had been out for quite a while. He looked too the sky and saw that the sun was beginning to set in the west.

"Okay Lily, I think that's enough for right now," said James.

"No way. I'm having way to much fun," laughed Lily.

"Come on Lily. We've been out here for almost three hours, and it's starting to get dark," said James as he shook his head slightly.

"Three hours! We've been out here for that long?" said Lily as she landed on the ground softly. "Wow. I didn't think we've been out here that long."

"You're really coming along, Lily," said James as he looked at Lily's face.

"Well, I had a pretty good teacher," said Lily as she smiled brightly at James. He stomach began to feel that all to familiar feeling again as he smiled back at her. When he caught a glimpse of his broom, another idea came into his head.

"Lily, do you want to head right away? Or are you up to seeing something?" asked James.

"We don't have to go in just now," said Lily. "What is it that you want to show me?"

"Well…it's kind of a surprise," said James as he mounted his broom. Lily looked at him curiously as he held out his hand for her.

"You want me to get on that broom with you?" said Lily a little unsure.

"Only if you want to," said James warmly. Lily bit her bottom lip as she had a mental battle with herself. James watched in anticipation as she wagered her own personal battle. A few moments later, he found her reaching out for his hand and pulled her toward the front of his broom, where she got on.

"Now close your eyes," he said over her shoulder. Lily turned her head with an eyebrow raised. "Humor me, okay?"

Lily let out a small chuckle before she closed her eyes. She felt James wrap one of his arms around her waist, to make sure she didn't fall off, while his other hand grabbed the handle in front of her. Soon she felt them both lift off the ground and slowly rise higher into the twilight sky.

She could feel James's breath on the back of her neck. Normally she'd find this disgusting, but now…the small puffs of air sent warm chills down her back. Never in her life had she felt something so…

"Lily...open your eyes," said James softly.

She did as she was asked and saw a sight she'd never seen before. A sight that she now understood, why James loved to fly so much. What was before her was the castle covered in snow with the mountains just beyond the now frozen lake. The sky had now turned a pale pink with a hint of purple, as the sun set behind the mountains. The sight was unbelievable, and she could only imagine what it must look like in the spring.

"Oh my...I've never seen the castle like this before. It's so pretty," gasped Lily. James grinned widely at the look he could see on Lily's face.

"I'm glad you like it," he said. Just then, a cold wind blew in there direction, and James quickly steered the broom back down toward the ground. Once they landed, James helped her off the broom.

"Thank You…" said Lily as she looked up into James's eyes. "for everything."

"Your welcome," he said softly as he looked at her.

James wanted to divert his eyes from the dizzying smile she was giving him, but he couldn't seem to pull his eyes away from her face. He looked into her bright green eyes, and began to feel some type of force pulling him into her green pools. Lily could feel the same force once again pulling her toward his hazel eyes. In the back of her mind, she realized that this has been happening quite a lot lately and that it usually led to nothing, but awkwardness. She figured that this is what would happen now, but she still couldn't resist this cosmic force willing her to lose herself in this boy's presence.

James on the other hand, had lost control the moment he gazed into her eyes. The color and shape of her eyes, the shape of her face, the pale tint of pink in her cheeks, the softness of her lips...all of it spellbound him. He raised his hand to brush a small piece of hair out of Lily's face, and traced a small line with his finger along her cheek, while his thumb ran along her lower lip.

"James…what are you…" whispered Lily.

He couldn't take it anymore. He quickly covered Lily's lips with his own in a simple soft kiss. He was tired of the near misses that occurred. As he kissed her, the sensation of Lily's soft lips was more than James could ever imagine.

Lily was needless to say startled by the kiss, but quickly became lost in the warm simple feeling of his lips.

'_Wow, I never thought a simple kiss could feel like this'_, thought Lily._ 'Everett's kisses are nothing like this. OH GODS…EVERETT!'_

James had the urge to deepen their kiss, but was quickly pushed away. He stared at Lily who was flushed in the face and has breathing as if she had just run a mile. But when he saw the tears start to form in her eyes, his heart nearly broke in two. "Lily?"

"I'm sorry," she said quickly before she ran out of the Quidditch pit and back to the castle. Leaving a confused and hurt boy in the cold.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: How many times to I have to say it? I only own this story and the characters I made up. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.


	31. Fall to Pieces

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter 31: Fall to Pieces**

Lily tossed and turned in her sleep that night, plagued with the memory of James's lips softly touching hers, and the look in his eyes as she pulled away. But what mostly caused her turmoil was the fact that she cheated on Everett. In the past she had scolded Felicia of her infidelities with the various boyfriends she had, but she never imagined she would betray her own boyfriend with another guy. As she stared out into the darkness of her room, for the first time in a long while, Lily had no idea what she was going to do.

For the next few days, Lily avoided James at all costs. She hardly came down from her room, which didn't really matter since James had also taken to spending more time in his own room. One night after another useless attempt to try to fall asleep, Lily went down to the common room to find that Felicia was still up.

"Hello, Felicia," said Lily.

"Hi, Lily," said Felicia as she looked up from the letter to her parents. "Haven't seen you in here for awhile. What's up? I thought you were asleep?"

"No, I just can't seem to fall asleep. How are you doing?" said Lily tiredly.

"You know me. Same old, same old."

"That's an interesting figurine," comment Lily. She noticed that a crystal figurine of a witch and wizard were standing close together as they swayed to some silent melody.

"Oh, yeah," said Felicia brightly as she gazed at her ornament. "Sirius gave me this for Christmas."

Lily continued to watch the crystal witch and wizard sway in place, until the witch turned her head a bit to look at the wizard more properly. At that point the two figures shared a passionate and heartfelt kiss before returning to their silent dancing.

"How lovely," said Lily softly with a hint of darkness in her tone. Felicia eyed her friend carefully and saw that she was not well. She could see that dark circles had formed under her eyes from lack of sleep, as well as the exhausted look that was spread throughout her face. Soon, Felicia had noticed that the more Lily stared at the present, the more Lily's hands visibly shook.

"Lily is there something wrong?"

"No. Why do you ask?" said Lily quickly.

"Because you're fidgeting like crazy," she said bluntly. "What's on your mind?"

"Can I ask you something?" said Lily suddenly as she took a seat next to Felicia.

"Sure. Fire away."

Lily took a moment to collect herself and try to figure out how to come about telling her friend about what her dilemma was. "Well…you really care for Sirius, right?"

"Oh no," moaned Felicia. "This isn't going to be another Black bashing is it?"

"No, this isn't about that."

"Okay. So what is it then?" said Felicia a little confused as to what her friend was trying to tell her.

"Could you just answer the question?" said Lily a little uncomfortable.

"Okay. Yes, I care for Sirius. I love him."

"Well…what if…" stuttered Lily, "let's say…one day you met someone…another guy for instance…and you and this guy…you know…got to know a little about one another."

"Uh huh?" nodded Felicia, still not sure what she was trying to say.

"Well…what if this new relationship...led to…something."

"Something like…what?"

"Let's say you and this new guy…kissed? What would you do then?" asked Lily.

Felicia bit her tongue a little to keep herself from laughing at her friend's feeble scenario. "Well…first I'd tell a better story since this hypothetical one is so old and sucks big time."

"Okay," sighed Lily with relief.

"So…let me get this straight…you met another guy, became friends with him, and then one day you two guys kissed, and now you feel like crap because of your boyfriend. Right?"

"Yeah…something like that," said Lily a little uncomfortable at the sound of Felicia's breakdown.

"Well first let me ask you, did you and this guy do anything more than kiss?" said Felicia as she folded her hands together in a business-like manner.

"No. It was just once. One kiss."

"Wait? One kiss?" said Felicia a little confused.

"Yes, a small peck on the lips," replied Lily, not really wanting to relive her experience.

"No swabbing of saliva?" said Felicia as she shook her head.

"Huh?"

"Frenching."

"I know what you mean," said Lily a little irate. "No we didn't. Just a soft, slow simple kiss."

"Just one kiss?" said Felicia trying to make sure she had her information right. "You are fretting and hyperventilating over one lousy kiss?"

"It wasn't lousy! It was sweet…and…and…"stuttered Lily.

"Okay, it was a good kiss. But it was one kiss with no tongue action at all?"

"YES!"

"So what are you worried about? It didn't mean anything, did it?"

"No! It…it just happened," said Lily painfully.

"Then what's the problem?" asked Felicia.

"Everett," said Lily as if it were obvious. "You know…my boyfriend?"

"Simple solution," said Felicia in the same tone. "Don't tell him."

"What?"

"Don't tell him. If it didn't mean anything, then you don't need to tell Everett. It'll only mess up a good thing."

"But…it's wrong. He has the right to know."

"Then why are you asking me what you should do?" said Felicia. Lily sat there for a moment to let her friend's words sink in. True, it wasn't as if the kiss she shared with James really meant anything. It was just the setting and everything else. Besides…Felicia was right…it wasn't as if she were lying to her boyfriend. She just neglected to tell him something.

"So you think I shouldn't tell him?"

"If it were me, and this kiss meant nothing, then…no I wouldn't tell Sirius," said Felicia. " I'd forget about it and move on." For some reason, Lily noticed a strange look in Felicia's eyes when she said the last part. But as quickly as she saw it, it disappeared.

"But what if he found out?"

"Has Everett?" said Felicia with an eyebrow raised.

"No."

"Then you cross that bridge when you come to it," said Felicia as if there was nothing else to say.

--

Lily avoided James as much as possible for the rest of the holiday vacation. Even when the rest of the school returned from their holiday and the new term began, Lily Evans could be found in her free time either in the sanctuary of the library or along side her boyfriend Everett.

After a week into the new term, Lily and Everett had become closer to one another than they had through the previous term. But every now and then, Lily's mind would betray her and cause her to drift back into the memory of her and James on the Quidditch pitch. This of course caused Lily to feel even more turmoil as she forced herself to spend almost every waking moment with her boyfriend in order to get the raven-haired boy out of her head. But although Lily was getting pretty good at hiding her feelings from the world, there was one person who still noticed her distressed.

"Lily…is there something bothering you?" asked Everett one night. He and Lily had decided to take a walk through out the grounds after dinner, and talk about anything and everything.

"No…why do you ask?" said Lily as she turned to him.

"No reason," said Everett as he lightly shook his head. "You just seem to be off a bit tonight?"

"Oh. No. I'm fine," lied Lily. Her mind had decided to take another impromptu vacation to a place she most definitely did not want to visit. "I'm just a little worried about a test I have soon."

"Oh, Lily," chuckled Everett. "I'm sure you'll do fine. You are one of the smartest girls I know," he added as he pulled her close for a hug.

"Thanks. I needed that," said Lily after she inhaled her boyfriend's aroma.

"This past week sure has been nice," commented Everett as they strolled along the frozen gardens again. "We haven't done this in a long while."

"I'm sorry I haven't been around," said Lily sadly.

"It's not a problem. I know you've been busy. So have I," said Everett in a warm, calming voice.

"I know, but…I still feel horrible about not being with you," said a tired and frustrated Lily.

"Lily, Lily, Lily. You are by far the most selfless girl I've ever met," lightly chuckled Everett. "It's just one of the many reasons why I love you."

Lily stopped dead in her tracks upon hearing the last three words he uttered. She looked up into his eyes with confusion written all over her face.

"Excuse me? Wh-what did you say?" asked Lily in a whisper.

"I love you, Lily," he replied simply. She could see from the look in his eyes that he truly did mean what he was saying, and soon found it a little hard to breath.

"Oh, Everett. I…"stuttered Lily. But whatever she was going to say never left her mouth. Because at that precise moment, Everett closed the distance between them and quickly placed his lips upon hers to seal the moment.

--

Andy walked along the corridors on her nightly prefect patrol of the castle. Although it really wasn't much of a patrol since everyone was either in their own house or hiding out somewhere with someone else. Andy wasn't the type to break up anyone's choice of fun. She more or less preferred to let everyone go on with whatever it was they were doing. Although if some were a bit noisy, she managed to put a silencing or muffling charm over the door or opening to drown out their noises.

As she walked through the corridors, she pauses every now and then to admire some paintings or statues, since not very many people get a chance to admire the works that decorate the halls. As she admired a painting in which a young witch and wizard were seen together underneath a huge oak tree, she drifted off into her mind once again.

Ever since it happen, she couldn't stop thinking about the conversation she had with Sirius. Needless to say she was shocked when she learned that she was the one who gave Sirius his first kiss. But since that revelation, she found herself thrown back to that night nearly three years ago. She was a good five months into her own personal war with Sirius, and had just started to date James, and was getting the silent treatment from all of her friends, especially Lily. But that didn't last long. Not with the bloody battle the Gryffindor team endured against Hufflepuff. Most of the team was injured, including herself who ended up in the hospital wing for a few days with a dislocated shoulder, a sprained ankle, and couple of broken fingers and ribs.

It was because of those injuries that Andy had missed a few days of lessons that were highly important. She had spent many hours into the night trying to catch up with her work. By the end of the week, she had succeeded. That night she didn't really feel like heading off to bed after she finished her studies. So instead, she stayed in the common room reading one of her mother's old teen romance novels.

Some where along the course of the night, she had drifted off to sleep and had dreams of a similar scene she had read in her book. A tall, dark, and handsome boy came to her in the middle of the night and gave her the most powerful and passionate kiss in the history of kisses. She vaguely remembered being shaken awake by a tall, handsome boy, to which she pulled closer to her believing she was still dreaming.

The moment their lips touched she felt an electric spark travel down her spine making all warm and fuzzy on the inside. She remembered being amazed at the skill and movement of the boy's lips, although a little sloppy at the beginning. Andy couldn't help but grin now knowing that she had helped him learn how to kiss with such skill so quickly. But the Andy of the past was torn between wanting to throw up or die of horror, when she realized what had happened. She remembered pushing him away and saying words that were not appropriate for a girl her age before running up to her room.

The look on Sirius's face when told the truth was one she had never seen before in her life. It was almost as if...he wished to repeat what had happened so long ago.

'Yeah right! Why on earth would Sirius Black want to kiss me?' she asked herself

_"Because he likes you. He wants to be with you."_

'Right, and I'm the long lost heir of Helga Hufflepuff.'

"_Then why did he tell you about his first kiss? He could have lied and said it was someone else. But no…he told you the truth."_

'He only did that because I asked him to tell me, and if he told me some bold face lie…which he did…I would have gotten the truth out of him one way or another.'

"_True. But you can't deny that you have feelings for him. Admit it, you liked kissing him back then. And now you yourself are wondering what it would be like to be with him now."_

'No I don't. I don't like Sirius any more than a friend, and even that's a stretch. There's too much bad blood between us.'

"_But you've gotten over that and have forgiven him for it, as he has you. You enjoy spending time with him."_

'No I don't.'

"_Liar. If that were true, then why did you go to Paris with him? You had fun with him that night, and moment you've been with him."_

'Okay I do have fun with him. But that doesn't mean I fancy him. I'm not one of those foolish girls who falls under his charm, and gets their heart broken whenever they see him with another girl in his arms,' stated Andy in her mind.

"_Whatever you say. But your wrong."_

'Shut up!'

Andy shook her head to rid herself of her personal debate, and continued to walk down the dark hallway. That is until a dark figure came out of the shadows in front of Andy. The sight of Severus Snape, startled Andy a bit, but was quickly replaced with the amount of revulsion she had for him.

"Well, well well. What have we hear? Out helping a couple of miscreant friends?" sneered Snape.

"Relax Snivellus. No one is here to play a prank on you, because as hard as it is for you to comprehend this little bit of information, not everyone is after you," she said with disgust. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll just leave and let you and your ego have some quality time together."

As she started to continue her journey down the hall, Severus suddenly grabbed a hold of her arm tightly.

"Uh excuse me, but what the hell do you think you are doing?" she said as she glared at him.

"Now what makes you think I want to be alone?" he said with a smirk.

"Oh, please! What is that suppose to be some kind of line?" said Andy with a sickening look.

"No." he said abruptly. "What makes you think I'd want to pick up a 'mudblood' like you?"

"What makes you think I'd want to be picked up by a grease haired looser like you? Now get your hands off me, before I…" she said as she ripped her arm from his grip.

"What? Put me out until the middle of next week with one of your little spells or magic tricks? Oh, I'm so terrified," he said sarcastically. "But actually I just wanted you to give a little message to your friends."

"What do I look like, their personal secretary?" snide Andy. "Don't even think about responding to that question." she quickly added when she saw the malice look in his eye. "So what is it?"

"Just let them know that I'm on to their little plan," he said smoothly.

"And what plan would that be?" said a voice from behind Andy. It was James along with Sirius and Remus.

"Ah, if it isn't the resident crime lords," said Severus darkly.

"Stuff it Snivellus," barked James. "Andy what are you doing here?"

"Patrolling," she said simply. She could see that James was in one of his moods that it gets into. A mood that usually lead to him getting into some sort of fight and a months worth of detention. "That is until I unfortunately ran into this loser," she added as she motioned toward Severus.

"You weren't say that a few minutes ago," said Severus in an off voice.

"Urgh…I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. At least then I won't lose my dinner," said Andy with disgust.

"Come on Sparky," chuckled Sirius at her comment. "Let's leave poor delusional Snivellus alone."

Andy glared darkly at Snape before she headed over to where the three boys were to join them.

"Ah yes, right on cue. The mudblood is rescued once again by her trouble making companions," sneered Severus.

Sirius had stopped in mid turn upon hearing his words. He snapped back around with his hand in his pocket, ready to pull out his wand.

"What did you call her?" growled Sirius.

"Easy, Blackie," warned Andy as she placed on hand on his wand arm.

"A mudblood. That's what she is after all. I don't understand why anyone one would even give her the time of day. It's people like her that cause problems in the wizarding world."

Both James and Sirius had had enough of hearing Severus's words. The two of them whipped out their wands ready to hex Severus into unconsciousness, that is until Andy stepped in.

"James, Sirius no!" said Andy as she stopped both of them from attacking. "I'll take care of this."

"But.." said both of them.

"I'll handle this," she said sternly to both. Andy then, turned around to face a smirking Severus.

"Now, Snape," said Andy brightly. "I thought we had this discussion last year. If you want to insult me, then please use a word that holds some value to me."

"Oh yes…that right," chuckled Severus menacingly. "I forgot I was dealing with the stuck up one, instead of the red haired know it all."

It was Andy's turn to demonstrate self-control instead of wiping the floor with the boy before her. From the corner of her eye, she could see that James was even more determined than ever to get into a row with Severus.

"It's one thing to criticize me, but leave me best mate out of this, okay? So why don't you do us all a favor and go crawl back under whatever rock you came from and stay there," said Andy darkly.

"Why don't you make me. That is if you have the guts to take me on in a real dual and without your boy toys to protect you," said Severus as he closed the gap between Andy and himself and stared her down.

He was a good head taller than Andy, but to her that didn't really matter. Andy merely laughed in his face as if he had made a joke, and turned toward the boys behind her as if to ask 'if he was for real'. The three of them watched Andy's actions, they had no clue as to what had gotten into her. But before they even knew it, Andy had pushed or flipped Severus belly down on the ground and had his arm pinned behind him.

"Now listen up, _Snivellus_," she said in a low harsh tone. " If I find out that you are up to something that will hurt any of my friends, I'll make you wish you'd never heard my name. Oh yeah, and I'll do it without a wand."

She roughly let go of Severus as she walked over him and continued on down the hall, followed by the three boys. As Severus began to get up, he silently vowed to find a way to make her pay.

"Ouch. Nice move back there, Andy," said James in amazement.

"I never knew you had it in you," said Remus. "Well not to do that to Severus I mean."

"Awww Sparky. I thought you only got physical with me? What? Am I not that special anymore?" teased Sirius.

"Don't worry, Blackie. You know I only do my most damaging moves on you," said Andy in the same tone.

"True, but I just don't feel like I matter to you anymore," said Sirius with a forlorn look. Andy not wanting Sirius to feel bad, came up along side him and made to grab a hold of his ear. Fortunately for Sirius he was a tad quicker and moved out of the way.

"Okay, okay. You don't have to do anything. I didn't say that I didn't miss it," said Sirius.

"Are you two done yet," snapped James.

"What's your problem, Jay?" asked Andy.

"Nothing."

"What's wrong, James?" sighed Andy as she put a hand on his shoulder. He quickly shrugged her hand away.

"Did you get into a fight with Lily or something?" she asked quickly.

"Yeah…something like that," he replied in a low voice. "Look, just forget it, alright?"

"James…"

"I said drop it!" yelled James before storming off. Remus, Andy, and Sirius stood there a moment a little surprised at his outburst. It was Remus who made the first move to follow him and find out what was wrong with him.

"Geez, what crawled up his robes?" asked Andy.

"I don't know. He's been like this for awhile now," said Sirius.

"Blackie…you don't think something happened between him and Lil do you?

"Are you kidding me? They haven't fought in weeks."

"I know but still. Doesn't it seem a little weird that he's suddenly moody about everything?"

"I don't know. Maybe something did happened, but he hasn't told any of us anything," said Sirius.

"Well whatever it is, it can't be good," said Andy.

"James's will be fine. But right now I'm a little more concerned about you," said Sirius.

"Me? Why?"

"Because Snivellus. What was that back there, between you and him?" he asked.

"What was what? Him acting like a prat, or him trying to act like he could hit on me?" said Andy.

"You know what part," he said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, please. Do you really think that I'd flirt with Snivellus? Please! I may be in a slight slump when it comes to dating, but I'm not desperate," chimed Andy.

"I know you would never do that. You have higher standards than any girl I've ever met."

"I'll take that as a compliment," smirked Andy.

"Well you go right on ahead," smiled Sirius. "But…just do me a favor."

"Sure. What is it?"

"Just, be careful around a him. I know you think you can take him on, and you're probably right. But Snape is a tricky little bastered. He'll come after you when you least expect it."

Andy could help but blush a bit at his concern for her safety, and silently thanked the darkness for hiding her flushed face. "Well…thank you for your concern. But I can take care of myself. I'm a big girl. Besides if I can kick your sorry arse, then Severus Snape shouldn't be a problem."

Sirius merely chuckled at her words. He knew that she was right, but he still didn't like the fact that she was threatened. As the two of them continued to walk down the hall, with his arm around her shoulder, Sirius made a silent promise to himself and that he would not let her become a victim of any type of pain.

--

The next two weeks were uneventful at most. The students were once again forced to deal with the heavy burden of homework. James continued to remain silent about his relationship with Lily, but had dropped his moody acts for the most part. Luckily for him, he had Quidditch to think about. Even though it was only the middle of January, he decided that it was the best time to think up of some new plays to use in Gryffindors quest for the cup.

Sirius, Peter, and Remus decided it was best not to ask him what was the matter with him anymore. They found that the 'Quidditch minded' James was better than the 'brooding' James. One Saturday morning, James informed Sirius that he wanted to hold a team meeting down in the common room later on that day. Sirius, not wanting to argue with his best mate, decided to follow along and told him he'd tell the others at breakfast.

After breakfast, Sirius decided to head back up to his room to catch up on some reading or sleep. (which ever came first) As he reached the common room, he was that Felicia was sitting on the couch alone, looking lost in her own thoughts.

"Knut for your thoughts?" said Sirius as he came up to Felicia.

"Oh! Hi, Sirius," said Felicia gloomily.

"What's wrong, love?"

"It's nothing," she said.

"Hey, don't give me that. Now what has got you looking as if you've lost your dog?" he said brightly.

Felicia looked as if she wanted to say something, but thought the better of it. "Do you think we could talk. In private I mean."

"Sure. Let's go upstairs," he said a little confused.

They both silently walked over to the staircase and headed up to the sixth year boy's dorm. Once inside the empty room, they stood there in the middle of the room looking at each other.

"Okay Figg, what did you want to talk about?" asked Sirius.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me?" she said abruptly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…are we okay? I mean is there something that I did to upset you or something?" said Felicia looking a little frustrated.

"No. What are you talking about?" asked a completely confused Sirius.

Felicia sighed as she rubbed a hired hand across her forehead. "I don't know. I…I just feel like I'm losing you. It's as if you don't want to be with me anymore."

"What's brought this on? Why would you think of something like that?" asked Sirius as he came up to her.

"Well…we haven't really spent some time together anymore. I know it's because of school and stuff, but every time I went to look for you, I could never find you. And when we are together, you seem to find some reason to leave. It's almost as if you were leaving me to go off and be with someone else," said Felicia looking down at the floor.

"Felicia, look at me," said Sirius, to which she complied. "I'm sorry for making you feel this way. But trust me when I say this. I'm not sneaking off to be with some other girl to snog. The only one that I want to be with like that, is you."

"Are you sure?" said Felicia.

"Of course," said Sirius, before pulling her into an embrace. Felicia wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed in his scent willing her nerves to calm. She then pulled away slowly and placed a slow tantalizing kiss on his lips.

--

"Hey it's time for the meeting. Where's Sirius?" asked Jay as he looked at his watch. Sure enough the entire Quidditch team had

"Don't know," said Robin.

"Probably upstairs asleep," said Will, one of the new beaters.

"Urgh, I'll go get him," groaned James.

"Nah, Jay it's alright. I'll go get him. You just start the meeting," said Andy.

"You sure?"

"Yup." With that Andy left the common room and headed up to the boy's dormitory.

After climbing a few more steps and walking down a hall, she came to halt outside a door marked sixth years. She raised her hand to knock on the door, but an idea popped into her head right before her hand came against the door. Instead of waiting for an answer when she knocked, she'd just quickly tap the door and walk right in and tell him to get up.

Knock Knock

"Hey sleeping beauty, time to get your sorry arse...up." said Andy as she walked into the room to a sight she didn't expect.

The sight she found was one of complete shocked and horror. Laying in the bed was a partially dressed Sirius and Felicia. Both of them were flushed and gasping for breath as they sat there completely shocked to find Andy standing at the foot of the bed. Felicia tried her best to cover herself, even though she still had her clothes on, even though her shirt was mostly unbutton . A shirtless Sirius just sat there with his mouth open staring at Andy. He watched as her eyes slowly changed from shock to disbelief, until finally resting on the pain she felt as tears slowly began to fill her eyes.

"Oh, I'm...I'm s-sorry. I...I...I d-din't know that you weren't in here alone. I just came to remind you about the Quidditch meeting, but it seems you're busy at the moment. So, I'll just leave then," mumbled Andy quietly and quickly.

"Uh Andy? Andy wait!" called out Sirius as she quickly left the room. _'Oh no. What've I done?' _he thought as he quickly threw on his shirt and ran after her, leaving a very confused Felicia behind.

--

"So with the next match coming up, we're going to be practicing six days a week for about two hours, so…" said James to his team, until he heard the sound of someone coming down the stairs. A few moments later he saw Andy alone at the bottom of the stairs with a lost look on her face.

"Hey, uh where's Sirius?" said James.

"Ummm...he's a little busy at the moment," said Andy quietly. "Um...Jay I hate to do this but...uh I have to go."

"Andy is something wrong?" said James with a concern look.

"No. Of course not. I just remembered I promised to meet up with someone. I'm sorry," said Andy quickly.

"Andy?" called out James as she rushed to the portrait and ran down the hall with tears in her eyes.

A few moments later, James heard Sirius running down the stairs with his hair all messed up and his shirt was half buttoned up.

"Where did she go? Where's Andy," asked Sirius scanning the common room.

"She left. Said something about having to meet up with someone. Do you mind telling me what's going on?" asked James having an idea that his best friend did or said something to seriously upset Andy.

"Sorry not right now," yelled Sirius as he to ran out of the common room. He looked down each hallway outside the portrait, but there was no sign of her anywhere.

--

James conducted the rest of the meeting by himself, wondering as everyone else was, what had happened between his two friends. After the meeting, his teammates headed off to find some other activity before dinner. As James was straightening up the common room, he heard someone come into. To say the least James was surprised to come face to face with Lily.

"Hello James," said Lily timidly after a lingering period of grueling silence.

"Evans," he said shortly. He then went back to cleaning up.

Lily noticed his harsh tone, and nearly flinched at the sound of it. "How've you been?" she asked trying to make small talk. James continued to ignore her as he roughly put his things back into his bag.

'_Okay, so he's not interested in a friendly conversation. I knew this would happened,_' she thought.

"Ah…listen," started Lily. "I wanted to talk to you about our next project for McGonagall's class. I was thinking we could get a head start on Sunday…"

"I'm busy on Sunday," sneered James.

"Oh! Well…Monday then."

"Busy that day too."

"Well…I suppose we could work on it Tuesday during a free…"said Lily, until she was abruptly silenced by James slamming his book on the table.

"Look Evans, can't you take a hint? I don't want to work on a stupid assignment, alright!" roared James.

Lily stood there in shook for a moment at his outburst. James watched as her expression turned from disbelief into confusion and anger.

"What is your problem?" she snapped.

"What is my problem? Is that all you can say? What about you, Lily? What is your problem?" yelled James.

"My problem?"

"Yes! You haven't spoken to me since Christmas. Let alone look at me, and you expect me to just what? Respond to your beck and call?" he asked as he flared his arms wildly.

Lily had no idea until now how badly she had hurt the boy before her now. "James, no listen…it's not…"

"Not what? 'Not like that?' Was that what you were going to say?" asked James. He growled in frustration as he ran his hand through his hair making it messier than ever. "God! Lily…we kissed each other! Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"We didn't kiss each other James. You kissed me, remember?" said Lily before she could stop herself.

"Same thing!"

"No it isn't. You…you…you know I have a boyfriend," barked Lily.

"Yeah, one who you have nothing in common with," said James in a matter of fact tone.

"Oh, that's is a lie if I've ever heard one," chimed Lily.

"It's true."

Lily started at him flabbergasted at his smug look. "How do you know? Huh? You're not with me when I spend time with him. You have no clue as to what goes on between Everett and I unless someone tells you."

At this statement, James began to laugh loudly, causing Lily's rage to flare even more. "Do you honestly think that I'm to believe that you're happy with Everett?" he chuckled.

"I don't care what you believe happens in my life. Why you may ask? Because it is my life, James! Not yours."

"I see it in your eyes," said James suddenly in a low tone. He walked over to her and stared right into the emerald pools he couldn't get out of his head.

"You think you're happy with him, but you're not. Not really. Your eyes don't light up like they should when you talk about the guy you supposedly love."

"I never said I loved him," said Lily shakily.

"Because you don't," he said in the same soft tone.

Lily shook her head to rid herself of the confusing thoughts and feelings that were started to bubble up. "I haven't spent enough time with him to know if I love him. And it's all because I've been with you, working on the stupid assignment!" yelled Lily. "So how am I to know, if all my spare time is taken up with you?"

"Shouldn't that tell you something, Lily, if all your time is spent with me?" said James in a strange tone that cause the hairs on Lily's neck to stand on end.

"You don't want to be with him," continued James. "You want…"

"SHUT UP!" screamed Lily scaring James a bit. "I don't ever want to hear those words come out of your mouth. I do not want to be with you."

The two of them continued to stare at each other for a few moments as Lily regained her composure and broke the heavy silence in a low tone.

"At one point…I enjoyed spending time with you. But now? Now I don't even what to be in the same room with you if I don't have to be."

James could hear the malice in her voice and knew that if he didn't say something, he'd loose her. "Lily…please. I'm sorry, all right? Just…please. I don't want to end this friendship."

"You're not sorry James," she said looking right into his hazel eyes. "Not about what you did. Besides, your apology is too late now, to save this friendship, because it ended that night on the Quidditch pitch. You crossed the line, James, and you can't just go back to the way things were. So do us both a favor…and let it be…and also stay the hell out of my life."

With that, she quickly ran up to room, unaware of the silent tear that fell behind the raven-haired boy's glasses.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **It's all belongs to J.K. Rowling. I only own this story and the characters I made up.


	32. Written All Over My Heart

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Thirty-two: Written All Over My Heart**

As the weeks went by, the tension of the sixth years grew to an all time level. But most notably in the Gryffindors. Many of the other students saw that hardly anyone was talking to one another. Everyone, including the faculty was especially curious as to why a certain few Gryffindors had reverted back to their old ways of trying to avoid one another.

Lily Evans had tried for weeks to rid herself to the fallout that she had with James. But for some unexplained reason, she found herself slipping into her memories more often than usual. This did not go unnoticed by a number of people.

"Lily what is it?" said Everett one night as they walked through the dark castle hallways.

"What are you talking about?" inquired Lily as she blinked back into the present.

"Something is bothering you. You seem to be on edge lately. Is there something wrong?" he asked with deep concern.

"No. Nothing is wrong," she said as she shook her head.

"Are you sure? Because you really don't seem like yourself," he persisted. Lily bit her lower lip as her conscience fought with her voice in order for the truth to finally come out. She wanted to tell Everett about what happened with her and James for awhile now, but every time she was about to, she heard Felicia's voice, and the possible fear of losing him forever gripped her tightly.

"Lily whatever it is, you can tell me. Please sweetheart. Tell me what's wrong," said Everett as he took a hold of her hands and looked deeply into her eyes, willing her to finally tell him what was on her mind.

"I'm not sure you want to know this," she said in a low voice.

"Lily...whatever it is, just tell me. I hate to see you in agony."

"Okay. Well...uh...I guess there is no reason to beat this around the bush. So...I'm just going to say it. A couple of weeks ago...I...well...I sort of...kissed someone," she stuttered. She watched as her boyfriend's face changed from concern to confusion, and finally resting on a look that held a great deal of pain and confusion.

"You, what?" he said in almost a whisper.

"I kissed another guy. Well...actually he kissed me. Everett I didn't mean for it to happen. It was an accident."

"An accident? How can you accidentally kiss someone else?"

"There was a misunderstanding. He thought I was interested, but I'm not. I'm only interested in you," plead Lily.

"Who was it?" he asked abruptly.

"Pardon?"

"That kissed you. Who was he, Lily?"

"It doesn't matter," stuttered Lily as she avoided his gaze.

"It does to me! So who was it? Your friend, Remus Lupin? Or that idiot Hufflepuff guy that you tutored?"

"Everett, please," begged Lily as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Or was it Potter?" he asked darkly.

"W-Why would you even..."stuttered Lily in a low voice.

"Because you've been spending a fair amount of time with him, that's why! Not to mention the fact that he's fancied you for quite some time now," roared Everett.

"It wasn't him!"

"I swear I'll make him wish..."

"IT WASN'T HIM! Alright? And what is with you acting like this?"

"How did you expect me to act, Lily? My girlfriend just told me that she's been snogging another guy behind my back! Oh, wait until I get a hold of him. I'm done with him. He'll think twice with messing with my girl," said Everett menacingly.

"Your girl? Since when did I become an object? I am your girlfriend, yes, but you don't own me. Besides the only reason why I told you is because you wanted to know," spat Lily.

"So now you're saying it's my fault?" he said in an accusing tone.

"No, I'm not saying it's anyone's fault. It just happened. It didn't mean anything! It was just one kiss! It's not like I wanted it to happen."

"But it did! It did happen, Lily. God...I...I don't even know what to say anymore," said an exhausted Everett as he turned away from Lily.

"Everett, where are you going?"

"I need sometime to process this, alone. I'll see you later."

* * *

Lily wandered the dark halls of Hogwarts in a daze. She kept replaying the fight with Everett over and over again in her head as silent tears fell from her eyes. As walked through the halls aimlessly, she soon found herself on the seventh floor and traveled down the corridor. Suddenly she was aware of a delicious aroma coming from a door she never noticed before. She hesitated for a moment before she grabbed the doorknob and pulled on it. It didn't budge. Lily thought that it was a bit odd, but didn't really care at the moment to find out what was behind the door. She was mentally drained as she slowly walked down the corridor once more replaying the events of the past few weeks.

"Lily?" said a familiar voice from behind her. She turned around to find Andy standing in the dark hallway holding open the mystery door. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

"Just thinking," she said with a shrug.

"What happened? Have you been crying?" said Andy as she searched her friend's face with deep concern.

"No," Lily said weakly.

"Come on, inside," waved Andy as she pulled an arm around Lily.

When Lily entered the room, she was shocked to find a gourmet kitchen filled with tools that every chef dreams of. Lily could see and feel that two of the four ovens were on as she walked over to one of the stools that were around the island. It wasn't until she sat down that she noticed that there were numerous trays of bake goods such as brownies, various cupcakes with frosting, and cookies.

"What happened to you? What's wrong?" asked Andy as she took a seat on one of the other stools as she pulled out her wand and had come of the cookies that were cooling float over to them and land on a serving plate.

Lily hung her head as she thought about the look on her boyfriend's face during their argument. "I think I just broke up with Everett."

"You what? W-how? What happened?" said a completely stunned Andy.

Lily told her all that happened to her in the past few weeks except for who she kissed exactly.

"Well...why didn't you tell him sooner? Why now?" asked Andy as she frosted another cupcake along with Lily.

"I took some advice from a friend," said Lily carefully. She really didn't want to tell Andy where she got her 'great' advice from.

"Oh, Lil! You talked to Felicia?" asked Andy after a moment of thought. "You know the girl doesn't tell her boyfriends anything. Hell I'm surprised to hear that she's still faithful to Blackie."

"I didn't know who else to talk to," said Lily a little defensively.

"Why didn't you come to me?"

"You weren't around. And when you were...you were off in this other world or something," admitted Lily. Andy paused for a moment and realized that her friend was right. She lowered her head a bit in the realization and mentally kicked herself for acting so horribly toward her best friend.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. Guess I failed at being there for 'the best mate in a crisis problem' test."

"It's okay. Besides, you're there most of the time," said Lily with a smile

"Yeah...plus I'm here now," Andy said trying to lighten the mood. The two of them sat there for a moment not knowing what else to say. It was finally Lily's voice that broke the silence.

"So...do you think I lost Everett for good?" she asked not sure if she really wanted to hear Andy's answer.

"Well, from what you've told me, he sounded pretty pissed off. But...I also know that he really does care for you. So my advice to you is just to give him time to cool off and let it all sink in. He'll come around, eventually. Just have faith," said Andy in a soothing tone.

"Thanks Andy," replied Lily with a small smile. For some reason she knew that Andy was right and that Everett would eventually start to talk to her again.

"No problem," said Andy.

"So what exactly is this place? I know there is no way that a full kitchen can be up here," commented Lily as she glanced around the room.

"It's called the Room of Requirement. I came across it a couple of years back. It'll turn into anything you want, so long as no one else is using it," replied Andy as she grabbed a couple of oven mittens and walked over toward one of the ovens.

"So, why the kitchen?" asked Lily.

"I just felt like baking something," shrugged Andy as she opened the oven door and pulled out yet another batch of cookies.

"Baking? You never bake."

"Yes I do!" said Andy defensively. "Just…not when I'm here."

"Yeah, but...wait a moment. Didn't you once tell me that you mostly bake because you're stressed out over a personal problem?" asked Lily.

"Yes, and usually it's caused by my sister. But Jen isn't the cause for this," said Andy as she nodded toward the huge batch of bake goods as she put the sheet of cookies down to cool.

"So what is it then?"

"Eh, I don't really want to talk about it," said Andy a little withdrawn.

"Okay," said Lily thinking it was better to not push the subject.

"So who was it?" asked Andy wanting to change the subject.

"Who was what?"

"The guy. Who was the guy that kissed you?" asked Andy with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Uh...just some guy," stuttered Lily.

"Oh. Okay then," replied Andy knowing better than to push the subject.

"I just don't really feel like going into details right now," explained Lily.

"Fair enough. Here, have a brownie," nodded Andy as she handed a chocolate walnut brownie over.

"Thanks. So what have you been up to lately? Besides your sudden interest in pastries," joked Lily

"Ah, same old, same old. Classes, Quidditch, getting into fights with the resident 'rat pack'," said Andy a little harshly.

"Black?" inquired Lily. Andy shook her head in protest as she bit into a brownie.

"Potter," she said after she finished swallowing.

"You got into a fight with James?" said a surprised Lily.

"Yup. He was acting all moody the other day. He's been like that for awhile now, come to think of it," said Andy off handedly. "Anyway, when I asked him what was bothering him, he nearly bit my head off. He said _'It was none of my damn business'_ and _'that I should stop medaling in his life_'. And they say girls have wide mood swings," chuckled Andy.

"Is this what brought out the baker in you?" inquired Lily.

"A little, but this mostly is because of something else," said Andy as her face fell a bit. Lily could see that she was starting to recede back into her thoughts about whatever it was that was plaguing her.

"I see. Hmm...well whatever it is, you must really be frustrated," remarked Lily.

"Why's that?" said Andy a little confused.

"Because this is the best brownies you've ever made so far," commented Lily with a chuckle.

"Thanks, I think," giggled Andy.

"So are you willing to talk about what's bothering you?" offered Lily.

"No. Not really," said Andy as she shook her head a bit. Lily nodded in understanding.

"Well...whenever you're ready."

"You'll be the first I talk to," stated Andy.

* * *

After their late night snack and talk, Lily headed off back to the Gryffindor tower and head off to bed. Andy on the other hand decided to walk around the castle a little more in hopes to clear her head of her thoughts. As she walked past her classrooms alone in the dark, she kept replaying the events of the past year. The day on the platform when everyone saw her new look and hair color, especially Sirius who tried to pick her up, popped into her head. The dual she had with Sirius when they served their detention together. The partnership they agreed too. All the times they met in secret to figure out their plans for Lily and James. She also thought of the night on top of the Astronomy tower when he told her about what happened to him over the summer, and the look in his eyes when looked at her.

But their day in Paris was a memory that just didn't want to go away. She kept on thinking about the way he held her when they danced, and the look in his grey eyes whenever he smiled at her. All of these thoughts were ones that Andy could enjoy for a period of time. Unfortunately every time she thought of one of these happy memories, the euphoria wouldn't last long because of one image that Andy was now convinced was permanently implanted into her mind. The sight she saw about a week or so ago that involved Sirius and one of her close friends.

'Why can't I stop thinking about him?' asked Andy to herself. 'Why can't I stop thinking about Sirius, when I don't even like him that much?'

"_Because you do like him that much. You like him a lot," _said her reflection in the glass pain

"What? No I don't. Okay yes I like him. As a friend, nothing more and nothing less."

"_Oh please do you think you can lie to yourself? You think about him everyday. Hell practically every second! You like being around him. He makes you feel happy in a way you have never known."_

"True. But I don't think about him every second. Maybe more than once or twice a day but…I can't help it. Merlin, when did he get so under my skin?"

"_The day you two finally put aside your differences and got to know one another," _her reflection answered back.

"Smart ass."

"_I prefer voice of reason."_

"Whatever. So, 'voice of reason' how do I get him over him?"

"_That's for you to figure out I'm sorry, I can't help you there, Miranda," s_aid the reflection before dissolving away.

Andy shook her head to out of frustration. In all the years she had been interested in guys, she could not remember a time when she felt this strongly for a guy. Let alone the guy being at one point her sworn enemy. She slightly laughed at the irony of her situation. She couldn't believe that her life turning into one of those sad pathetic muggle teen drama show that her sister enjoys watching while on holiday.

Slowly Andy found her way to her favorite place to think. As she reached the observation ledge of the Astronomy tower her mind began to wander to the night she told Sirius about what happened to her parents and the fall out with her mother. She remembered the way he held her, so strongly, yet gentle at the same time as he ran his hand through her hair. The way his voice sounded when he told her about his own fallout with his parents was even different that night. "Was that it? Was that the moment I started to feel like this?" she asked herself.

She once again looked up into the cold night sky for some sort of hint as to when she started to have feelings for Sirius. But mostly she was looking for a way to stop having these feelings. Finding that she wasn't really receiving any guidance, she walked somberly down the flight of stairs and let her mind wander back to that fateful moment when she realized how much she actually did care for him.

The sight of seeing him in bed with Felicia really shouldn't have surprised her since she is his girlfriend. Yet all the same, the shock struck her to the very core. At that moment, Andy had never known what it felt like to have your heart broken by Sirius Black. She didn't really remember leaving Gryffindor tower when she hid away in one of the deserted classrooms on the first floor crying her eyes out. After replaying the scene over and over again since it happened, she now realized that she had done what many girls at Hogwarts had done before, given their hearts to one Sirius Black just to have it crushed. The only difference was that she had given her heart blindly.

Tears began to form in Andy's eyes once again as she went through her private emotional rollercoaster. She blinked away her blinding tears as she wandered around the dark hallways and turned a corner. At that moment she hit something sort of hard, yet soft at the same time before she fell to the ground along with someone else. It was then that she realized she had walked right into another student whose books were now half out of his bag.

"Oh! I'm sorry," said the boy quickly.

"No it's alright. It was my fault," sniffed Andy as she helped the boy put his books back into the bag. She wiped away a couple of her tears to see that this boy was quite handsome with his dark brown hair as well as a pair of chocolate brown eyes that sparkled in the moonlight. Andy smiled a little before she got up to walk away.

"Are you alight?" asked the boy when he noticed her face.

"Yes. I'm fine," lied Andy as she quickly took the sleeve of her robes and wiped her face.

"Well…no offense," said the handsome boy, "but you don't like fine."

"Why do you say that?" said Andy trying to put on a good front.

"Because you are crying," he replied plainly.

Andy chuckled slightly at his honesty. "Guess I can't fool you. God I hate being such a girl," she said as she wiped away a few more tears.

"Here," said the boy as he extended his hand holding a handkerchief for Andy.

"Thank you," replied Andy as she took the item.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" he asked after a few moments allowing Andy time to compose herself.

"No. But thank you for the offer, though," she said politely.

"I'm Tristan by the way," he said after an awkward period of silence. Andy could see that he was mentally kicking himself for thinking that sounded like an idiot, and found it adorable.

"Andy," she sniffed as she extended her hand to which he took. A slight chill ran up her spine at the point of contact.

"I know. We've had a couple of classes together," said Tristan. It took Andy a moment to realize that he was right, and that she actually did know him from classes as Tristan Miller, a sixth year Ravenclaw student.

"Right, sorry," she apologized.

"Don't be. I'm not," he said with a smile, a smile that caused the hairs on the back of Andy's neck to stand up.

"I should get going," stuttered Andy.

"Yeah, me too," said Tristan as he looked at his watch.

"It was nice to meet you. Thanks for the handkerchief," said Andy awkwardly as she started to hand the piece of fabric back.

"You keep it," said Tristan has he held up a hand in protest. "Besides, it was my pleasure. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," said Andy as she started to head down the hallway.

"Andy?" said Tristan suddenly causing her to spin around quickly.

"Yes?"

"Whatever it is that you are going though, it may seem like the pain is unbearable. But give it time. It'll eventually go away and be replaced by something wonderful," said Tristan sweetly. Andy stared at him surprised at his words.

"I hope the next time I see you, well if I see you again, that it's on a happier note," stuttered Tristan. With that he nodded good-bye and left a slightly confused Andy in the hallway contemplating his words.

* * *

A couple of days later, the mood at school changed suddenly letting the students know that everyone was finally getting back into a normal routine. Most of the students seemed to be in better spirits as well, including Lily and Andy.

"Well you two look a bit more like yourselves," commented Karen as Andy and Lily took a seat at the table.

"Yeah, that whole mopping around didn't really suit me," said Andy in normal sarcastic tone. "How about you, Lil?"

"I'm afraid I still have a touch of it," said Lily a little unlike herself. Kelly, Karen, and Andy looked upon their friend helplessly; knowing the only thing they could do was reassure her that all was not lost.

"Morning, gals," said Felicia brightly.

"Morning Felicia," said Lily a little more chipper. Andy looked up and saw that Felicia took the seat right across from her.

"Hey, Andy," said Felicia a little awkwardly.

"Felicia," said Andy shortly. Everyone looked at the two girls a little strangely at the way they were acting. They just assumed that they had gotten into another one of there little fights that normally transpire through both.

"So Andy," said Kelly after a few moments needing a change in subject. "We all know why Lily here was all depressed out, so why were you?"

"Oh it was nothing," said Andy a little off. "I didn't do to well on my Transfiguration midterm and James wasn't much of a help either," she lied.

"What do you mean?" inquired Kelly.

"He and I got into a little bit of a row. But we worked it out," said Andy simply.

"How?" asked Felicia.

"Hung him upside down and used the tickling curse on him until he cracked," she stated.

"And did he?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, he did. And actually, I have Felicia to blame here for his rudeness," said Andy glaring at Felicia.

"Me? What did I do to Potter?" shrieked Felicia.

"Well, you are Blackie's girlfriend, so Potter has felt as if he's lost his best friend. So instead of talking to Black, he took it out on me," said Andy.

"Oops," said Felicia not really sorry at all.

"Yeah well, I straightened him out," said Andy.

"So that was the big deal? You were upset over a fight with Potter?" asked Kelly not sure if she should believe it or not.

"I said it was part of it," said Andy darkly as she glared at Felicia again. Felicia knew what she was talking about and felt a little uncomfortable under Andy's glare.

"Anyway…" said Felicia after a few moments, "so what is going on with everyone today?"

"Well, I thought maybe we could go and visit Hagrid today," suggested Karen. "We haven't done that in awhile."

"Yeah, I'm up for a visit," said Andy.

"Sorry can't make it," said Felicia.

"Why?" inquired Lily.

"I have to head down to Hogsmeade for a bit," said Felicia smugly.

"For what? You were just there not to long ago," said Kelly.

"Well not that it's any of your information, but I need to pick up some things for a surprise," said Felicia with a mischievous smile.

"What, for your lover boy, Blackie?" said Andy out of habit.

"As a matter of fact, yes. It's his birthday tomorrow," answered Felicia.

"Thanks for the warning," said Andy coldly. "I'll be sure to send him a nice card with a dungbomb attached to it."

Everyone looked at Andy in surprised. They knew for the past couple of weeks she was actually getting along with her former arch nemesis but apparently things have changed.

"Sorry, like I said before, old habits die hard," said Andy as she took a sip of her pumpkin juice. With that the conversations died down a bit too normal gossip heard through out the week.

"Ah, yes well…I guess we should be heading off," said Lily after a little bit noticing the time on her watch. "Have fun in Hogsmeade, Felicia."

With that four of the five girls left the Great Hall and started to head toward the entrance hall.

"Hey…what was that back there?" inquired Lily as she pulled Andy off to the side.

"Nothing," said Andy not really wanting to discuss what happened.

"That other thing you didn't want to talk about, it wouldn't have anything to do with Black now would it?" she asked cautiously. Andy gave off a deep sigh before giving her answer.

"Yeah, you could say that," said Andy a little uncomfortable.

"Another one of your famous fights?"

"Yeah, something like that," said Andy a little drawly.

"Okay," nodded Lily seeing that this was becoming a little uncomfortable for her best friend. "No more talking on the subject."

"Thanks," said Andy sincerely.

"ANDY!" said a voice from the stairway. Both girls looked up and saw a tall handsome looking boy with brown hair waving at them.

"Who's that?" asked Lily.

"Uh…someone I met the other day. Uh, you gals go ahead. I'll meet you outside," said Andy to her friends. With the girls nodded before the left Andy with the boy. But before they left, they gave him a look over to measure him up.

"Hello, Andy," said the boy a little out of breath.

"Hi…Tristan," said Andy cautiously, trying to make sure she had the right name.

"You remembered my name?" said Tristan a little surprised.

"Yeah, it took a moment. But I remembered, and you really didn't need to know that," said Andy a little embarrassed.

Tristan couldn't help but chuckle at Andy's blush. "Well, it's good to see that your sense of humor has returned. Not to mention your smile."

"I don't know about that," said Andy a little unsure.

"How are you really?" inquired Tristan.

"Better. Much better, than the other night," said Andy a little uncomfortably. She was still a little embarrassed to have someone see her in such disarray and acting such like a girl.

"Well that's good to know," said Tristan with a smile.

"Listen, I want to thank you for being there, and apologize again for my clumsiness," said Andy looking directly into his brown pools.

"There's no need to apologize. I'm just glad to know that you aren't sad anymore," he said sincerely.

"Well…thank you," said Andy a little surprised by his honesty. "That's very sweet."

"It's the truth," he said with a shrug. Andy couldn't help but smile at his actions which in turn caused him to blush a bit. "Uh…well I guess I should be off. I don't want you to be late with meeting up with your friends."

"Oh…alright," said Andy a little disappointed that he had to leave so quickly. She liked being around him. For some reason she felt a little bit at peace when he was around. They both said their good-byes and Andy once again started to head off onto the grounds.

"Actually wait, there's something that I wanted to ask you," said Tristan causing Andy to spin around and face him once again.

"I mean I'll understand if you don't want to, but…" he stuttered. Andy watched as he took a deep breath to calm himself a bit before he started talking again.

"I was wondering if you'd like to hang out sometime?" he asked slowly.

"You mean like a date?" asked Andy not sure if that was what he was asking.

"Umm…well…not if…"he stuttered.

"Because if it is, I'd be okay with it," said Andy quickly so as not to make him to uncomfortable.

"You would!" he said in amazement.

"Yes," said Andy with a smile. At that moment she looked up and saw that James, Remus, Peter, and Sirius were walking down the stairs toward the Great Hall.

"Great! Uh…so when did you want to meet up?" he asked.

"Whenever," said Andy as she quickly looked away from the group of boys.

"Lunch? Today?" he asked after a few moments.

"Boy you sure do move fast," joked Andy.

"If it's too soon…" he started.

"Lunch would be great. I'll meet you around 12:30 then?" she asked.

"Sounds good to me. I'll see you then, I don't want to make you any late than you already are," said Tristan allowing Andy a chance to leave.

"See you then!" With that she left the castle and ran to catch up with her friends.

* * *

That evening Sirius walked around the castle lost in thought. He kept replaying the events of the last few weeks in his head, but most especially the look on Andy's face when she walked in on him that day with Felicia. He'd seen that look on her eyes once before on top of the Astronomy tower when she told him about her family. That night he silently made a vow to never see that look in her eyes again. Of course at the time he meant it as a friend, but now…things had changed. He didn't know how or when, but he started to feel something more than friendship toward his former nemesis.

For months now, almost every thought he had was of her. He enjoyed spending time with her, listening to her jokes, and her laugh. But for some reason, it was her smile that captivated him the most. He couldn't get enough of that mischievous grin that came across her face when she was planning something James and Lily together.

He had never felt this way with any girl before. Not even with Felicia. Sure he liked spending time with her, but there just wasn't that spark there anymore from when they first started to going out. He knew what he had to do now was going to be different, but he hoped she would understand. '_Who knows maybe she feels the same way?_' he thought to himself as he walked back into the common room. Once he was inside, he found Felicia sitting over in a corner writing something in her notebook.

"Hey Felicia," said Sirius. This cause Felicia to jump up in surprise at his presence.

"Sirius! What are you…I mean hi!" she said quickly.

"Can we talk?" he asked her softly.

"Sure," she replied while moving some of her stuff to the side to make room for him.

"Uh, somewhere in private?" he asked. Felicia gave him a quizzical look but complied with his request. With that the two of them headed out of the common room and into the rest of the castle.

Once they had found a deserted classroom on the seventh floor, Sirius had locked the door and placed a silencing charm on the door.

"So Sirius, what is it you wanted to talk about?" asked Felicia.

* * *

The next morning, Sirius was curled up in sound asleep in his bed. He enjoyed sleeping in on Sunday mornings, especially after the night he had.

"Hey, wake up mate!" shouted James as he threw a pillow at Sirius's sleeping head.

"Urgh…why should I?" asked a sleepy Sirius.

"So then you can receive your traditional birthday waking," chimed Remus. As the words began to register in his mind, Sirius quickly opened his eyes in time to find James, Remus, and Peter holding pillows in there hands and grins on their faces.

"Huh? Oh no!" he yelled right as the three boys began hitting him with their pillows, singing a little song.

"_HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, __TODAY'S YOU'RE SPECIAL DAY. HEY! YOU'RE A RIGHT OLD PRAT AND TODAY JUST PROVES THAT! SO HERE'S SEVENTEEN WACKS FROM YOUR THREE PALS YOU'VE GOT YOUR BACKS! SO HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM US TO YOU! HEY!"_ sang the three boys.

"You little buggers!" said Sirius laughing. "Why do you do this every year?"

"Because you do it to us every year, Padfoot," said Remus simply.

"Happy Birthday mate!" said James proudly as he hand over a wrapped present along with the other two boys.

"Thanks guys," said Sirius brightly as he ripped open his presets to find a new supply of gags to use on others, along with some Quidditch books, and sweets.

The four boys joked around for a bit, until James noticed Sirius wasn't his usually self.

"Hey Sir, what's up with you? Usually you're bouncing off the walls about now," he said with a grin.

"I broke up with Felicia last night," said Sirius plainly. The three guys looked at each other in surprise at his confession.

"Ouch. Sorry mate," said Peter.

"Why? I'm not," said Sirius a little more like himself. "Don't' get me wrong, I liked Felicia a lot. I just wasn't happy enough with her, to be there for her like she wanted me to be."

"How'd she take it," inquired James.

"I'll tell you once the ringing in my ear stops," said Sirius as he cringed at the memory of last night.

"That bad huh?" said Remus.

"Yeah, I didn't really think she'd react like that," said Sirius as he got out of his bed and stretched out his muscles.

"Well what did you expect, Padfoot? You've been with her for…what is it now? Four months?" asked Remus. "Of course she's going to be attached to you."

"Yeah, well, what's done is done. I can't change what happened or how I feel. No matter how bad it hurt her," said Sirius.

"Yeah, well I'd just watch my back if I were you," commented James. "Knowing her friends, they're liable to do anything to cause you pain for hurting one of their own."

"I don't really think they'll get that extreme," said Sirius before heading off into the bathroom.

"Your funeral," said James.

* * *

The rest of the day went by very well. The boys spent the day playing a few games of wizard chess and pulling a few pranks on the Slytherins before heading off to do there homework that was due the next day.

That night while they were up in the common room, a sudden tapping occurred at the window next to them.

"What's that noise?" asked Peter. They then noticed the owl tapping at the window trying to get in. James got up and opened the window for the owl and noticed a package attached to its leg. He untied the string and gave the large barn owl a treat before it flew off again into the twilight.

"What is it?" asked Remus.

"Looks like another birthday present for Sirius," said James as he handed over the package to his best mate.

Sirius greedily grabbed the gift and took it over toward the fire place to have more room to open it. He ripped opened the wrapping paper and found a shiny black motorcycle helmet and a card inside.

_Happy Birthday Sirius,_

_Thought this would help protect that over grown head of yours (and I mean that with love), when you take your little toy out for a ride. Thanks again for the little holiday, and for being there when things were well…not going so well in my life. I hope your birthday is one you will never forget. _

_Happy Birthday Sirius!_

_Love always,_

_Your Princess Sparky._

Sirius stared at the card for a few moments in amazement as well as the present. Since the moment he broke up with Felicia he thought it was possible that Andy might still have feeling for him after what had happened. He knew it was risk, but somehow he believed that there was a chance she might want to be with him.

He re-read the note over and over again making sure he wasn't seeing things.

'_Wow…she…my princess? My Sparky? She called herself 'My Princess Sparky'_ he thought to himself. He looked over the words 'Love always' over again.

'_Does she really think of herself as mine? Maybe I haven't screwed things up too much between us yet,'_ he thought. Within a few moments, he jumped up and started to head out of the common room.

"Hey Padfoot, are you alright?" asked James noticing the odd state his best friend was in.

"Huh? Oh yeah…uh…listen I uh…I just remember I have to go do something. I'll be back later," he said as he left the room.

"Hey are you sure you are okay?" asked James, but unfortunately Sirius didn't hear him.

"What do you think he's up too?" asked Remus.

"I don't know," said James as he walked over and picked up the present. "But whatever it is, I don't think it'll end well."

* * *

"So...tell me about yourself," said Tristan, as he and Andy walked through the castle in the dark after having dinner together in the Great Hall.

"Well, what do you want to know?" she asked not sure what to tell him.

"Anything you want to talk about. Family, friends, school...it doesn't matter to me."

"Well there's not really much to tell. I was born in New York, came to England when I twelve, and been at Hogwarts ever since," said Andy simply.

"What about brothers or sisters?" he asked as they walked hand in hand together.

"Well...you know I have a younger brother and sister who are twins. And I also have another little sister, Isabella. But she won't be coming to Hogwarts. She doesn't have any magic in her," said Andy with a small shrug.

"That kind of sucks for her doesn't it? I mean her big brother and sisters can do magic but she can't," said Tristan empathizing with her little sister.

"Yeah it does, but she's okay with it. She thinks its better that way because then she can beg us to do magic tricks for her. Even though the ones we perform aren't really magical. Just some crazy Zonko prank we got at Hogsmeade," chuckled Andy as they turned the corner to walk down the seventh floor corridor. "So what about you, Tristan? What's your family like?"

"Well...my dad works in the ministry office and my mum is busy taking care of my little brother and the manor," he said simply.

"Wow. I didn't know you had a little brother," said Andy a little surprised.

"Yeah, he won't be coming to Hogwarts until after I graduate. He can be a pain at times, but for the most part we get along," said Tristan with a smirk. Andy couldn't help but get grin back at him. Although she had only known him for a short time, she couldn't help but feel all bubbly inside when he was around.

"Well that's nice to know," commented Andy.

"What about you? Do you get along with your siblings?"

"Yeah, for the most part. The only one I don't really get along with is my sister Jen. We've always haven't seen things eye to eye. But now...things are slowly changing," said Andy a little carefully.

"Yeah, I get like that with my brother Jeff. So what other interesting facts should I know about the infamous Andy Starmenter?"

"Well for one thing don't call me 'infamous'. I'm just like everyone else. I've got my own problems and quirks," she said politely.

"Fair enough," he said with a nod. "Do you mind if I ask you a more personal question?"

"Depends. What's the question?" she asked with a mischievous smirk.

"Do you believe in finding love at a young age?" he asked a little afraid of what she would say. Andy took a moment to think about the question before she answered him.

"Sure. Anything is possible when it concerns matters of the heart," she said proudly. The two of them fell into a small period of silence before Andy spoke once again. "Okay I have a question for you. Have you ever had your heart broken?"

"No. Not really," said Tristan after a few moments of thinking quietly. "It's been burnt or hurt, but never really broken. You?" At that moment, Andy quickly hung her head and turned away at his words.

"I'm sorry. I've stepped out of line," said Tristan apologetically.

"No, it's alright," said Andy a little thickly. She was trying hard not to let her emotions get the better of her once again. "Yes. I had my heart somewhat broken once. It was a couple of days ago. Actually it was the night you found me. But I don't want to get into any specific details."

Tristan looked upon her with such sorrow. He couldn't quite understand who'd want to hurt this girl before her, but who ever he was he wasn't good enough for her.

"I'm sorry," he said after a few moments.

"Don't be. It was my own fault. I knew what I was getting into and I just let it happen," said Andy as she continued to mentally kick herself for allowing herself to feel for Sirius.

"Don't say that," said Tristan quickly.

"Why? It's true. He was with some other girl when I realized I liked him. And it took me seeing them together to realize that he's not available and not interested in someone like me," said Andy truthfully.

"Hey..." he said, taking her face into hands and looking deeply into her eyes. "Whoever this guy is, he's a fool to not realize that he let someone as amazing as you are slip though his fingers."

"Really," asked Andy as she looked up into his eyes.

"Absolutely," he said simply while still cupping her face in his hands.

Andy couldn't help but feel trap in his dark warm brown eyes. She felt her heart race as his face slowly inched closer to hers. She closed her eyes softly right as his lips touched hers in a soft kiss. Feeling a little bold, Tristan ran the tip of his tongue along Andy's lips for a brief second before she opened up to him. Air soon became a necessity to Andy as he breathlessly pulled away.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that," gasped Tristan as he looked away from her. He didn't mean to kiss her, but for some reason he couldn't help himself.

"No, it's alright. I-I kind of like it. Actually I liked it a lot," blushed Andy.

"Really? So did I," replied Tristan with a shy grin.

Andy couldn't help but blush at the look he was giving her and bit her lip nervously. As she leaned into Tristan again for another kiss, all thoughts of Sirius fled her mind and were replaced with the warm feeling she felt while kissing the boy in front of her.

Unknown to either of them, a pair of gray eyes witnessed their kiss while standing in the shadows. As the new couple continued to be oblivious to the world around them, the dark haired boy turned and walked away, slowly with his head hung low and a broken heart in his hands.

* * *

**Disclaimer**: It's all J.K. Rowling. I only own this story and the charatcter's I made up.


	33. Just Between You and Me

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Thirty-three: Just Between You and Me**

As the months went on, so did life at Hogwarts. Students were eager for spring weather to dwell upon them. But in the mean time, everyone busied themselves with their work. The fifth and seventh years were preparing for their O.W.L.S. and N.E.W.T. exams, while the others concentrated on their projects and reports. The sixth years concentrated on their studies, especially their Transfiguration projects. For their second term, the students were given the assignment of teaching the class a useful spell that would be helpful in everyday life. Many of the students continued on with last semester's routines. Groups would meet up during their breaks and after meals to work on their assignments. That is…all but one.

James and Lily hardly spoke to each other at all. Lily had worked out her problems with Everett and spent most of her free time with him. As for James, he buried himself in Quidditch tactics, plays, and practices. He also had some how taken his friend Sirius's role of the resident Hogwarts hunk. It seemed as if he had a new girl practically every week; a title that Sirius didn't seem to really care fore anymore.

Everyone noticed Sirius's sudden change since his break up with Felicia. He seemed to be more withdrawn then in the past. If people didn't know any better, they would have thought Felicia had broken up with him instead of the other way around. As for Andy, she couldn't have been happier since she met Tristan. The two of them had become so close it was as if they had been dating for years instead of the few short weeks.

As the middle of April rolled about Andy came bouncing down the stairs and into the Great Hall for breakfast before classes started.

"Good morning, everyone!" said Andy brightly.

"Why are you in such a good mood?" asked Felicia as she took a bite of her toast.

"Just because I feel like it," she replied with a shrug.

"Now this wouldn't have anything to do with today being you birthday would it?" said Lily with a raised eyebrow.

Andy gave her a surprised look at her remark. "Today's my birthday? Wow, I didn't even realize it. I guess it is!"

"Ha Ha," laughed Kelly. "Well if you didn't realize it, then I guess you don't really want these then."

With that all of the girls pulled out their gifts and placed them on the table.

"Hey yeah, I want them!" replied Andy as she grabbed the first gift and started ripping open presents. The gifts she had received were a pair of trendy earrings from Kelly, a few shirts from Felicia, a new romance novel from Karen entitled 'Magical Crush', and a scrap book from Lily of the group through the past years.

"Aww…thanks guys! I love them!" said Andy brightly as she piled up her presents on the table. At that point the morning mail came in.

"Mail's in," said Kelly offhandedly. Andy began to pile her plate up with some waffles when a large bird landed right in front of her.

"What the?" she said in surprise. It was then that she noticed a bouquet of red roses attached to the bird's talon. She then untied the string and gave the bird a piece of toast before it flew off.

"Who sent you the flowers?" asked Kelly.

"Tristan," blushed Andy.

"You two have been spending an awful amount of time with each other," commented Felicia.

"Yes. I guess we have. Sorry about that," apologized Andy.

"It's fine," said Lily. "I've got to say Andy; I've never really seen you this happy before. And it's not even because of a prank!"

"Well…I've never really felt this way about a guy before," said Andy shyly. But deep down in her mind one name did pop up that could be compared to what she is feeling for her new boyfriend.

"I'm glad you're happy," said Lily warmly.

"Thanks. I'll see you gals a little later. I'm going to take these up to the room," she said after she practically inhaled two waffles and some hash browns.

"I'll go with you," offered Lily as she grabbed her bag and some of the presents.

As the girls headed out the door Lily saw her boyfriend and gave him a quick smile before she headed upstairs with Andy.

"So, I take it that things are okay between with you and Everett?" asked Andy.

"Of course they are. Why wouldn't they be?" replied Lily.

"No reason," commented Andy. She really didn't want to get into a fight with her friend. For the past couple of weeks, Andy had wanted to say something to her best friend about her boyfriend and James, but she couldn't find the right way to approach the task without her friend blowing up at her.

"What is it?" insisted Lily.

"It's nothing, Lily. Come on we'd better hurry before we're late to class," said Andy as they walked down the hall toward the portrait of the fat lady.

"Andy you can tell me," said Lily as the two of them walked into the common room.

"No I can't because you really wouldn't want to talk about it," said Andy quickly. The moment the words left her mouth, she instantly regretted it.

Lily expression went from one of confusion to understanding. "This about what happened between me and Potter isn't it?"

"Well…yeah. What the hell happened between you too? I mean one minute you guys are getting along and the next you are barely saying two words to each other," said Andy.

"It's complicated," said Lily as she girls walked into their room and dropped off Andy's presents.

"This isn't about that kiss is it? Come on Lily it was months ago!" said Andy. It didn't take her long to figure out who Lily was talking about that night in the Room of Requirement.

"Andy please," said Lily.

"I'm just trying to understand why you would let a stupid little kiss get in the way of spending time with your Transfiguration partner. Or have you decided to work on the entire project by yourself?"

Lily didn't say a word as she sat on her bed while she watched her friend dig through her trunk trying to find a vase.

"Or is it Everett who's keeping you from him?" said Andy.

"My boyfriend does not control me," barked Lily.

"Okay then. Why have you stopped talking to Potter than if you said your over the kiss?" asked Andy.

At this point, Lily was getting quite tired of this conversation and decided to end it quickly. "I don't know Andy. Probably the same reason why you stopped hanging around Black. Now why is that?"

"I don't really want to talk about it, Lily," barked Andy as she glared at Lily while searching her trunk.

"Fine."

"Besides, you're one to talk. Ms. I only converse with James Potter through owls," grumbled Andy loudly as she went back to her task.

"Andy, don't start," asked Lily tiredly.

"Fine! Now where the bloody hell is that vase. Ah! Here it is," she said as she pulled out a glass vase from her trunk. She filled it with water and placed the flowers next to her bed on her nightstand.

"There, perfect!"

"You really do like this guy, don't you?" said Lily with a small smile.

"Yes. I do. I don't think I've really ever felt this happy before. Tristan is a good guy. He's not just some bloke who thinks he can score. He's completely different from al the other guys I went out with," said Andy brightly.

"I'm glad you're happy."

"Thanks."

"We should get going. Class is about to begin."

"Right. Off we go," said Andy as she gave her flowers one last look before leaving.

As the two of them walked down to the common room, Andy looked through her bag to check to make sure she had her Transfiguration homework.

"Ah crap!" she chimed.

"What is it?"

"I forgot my assignment," sighed Andy in annoyance. "Go on ahead. I'll catch up with you."

"Okay but hurry though."

"Yes mother," joked Andy.

She ran quickly back up to her room and dashed to her night stand where she left her assignment on. As she was about to leave, she heard an owl hoot softly. There on her bed was a white and brown owl holding a letter and a white rose in its talon. Curious about the sight, Andy went over and retrieved the letter. The moment she got the not off its talon, the owl flies back out the window.

"Hey wait…what?" called Andy. She looked down and began to examine the white rose and a slight smile formed on her face. White roses have always been her favorite.

'_I wonder when Tristan found out._' she thought to herself as she opened the note.

'_I've seen you almost everyday, and thought of you as someone else. Now that I have met the real you, I know now that I was wrong to think of you like that. I was a foolish person to not realize what kind of star you really are. A shinning star that is sweet, kind, thoughtful, and loyal to her heart. A heart that I've grown fond of. But alas, a heart I could never make as happy as it is now. The only wish I have on your day is for you to be happy with the ones you are with. Please accept this rose as token of a start of a new chapter. A perfect rose for a perfect heart. Happy Birthday Miranda.'_

There was no signature on it, she noticed as she scanned the note over and over again. Normally when she received notes from secret admirers they were written so carelessly. But this…this was something different. As she looked it over for the tenth time, she saw something familiar about the handwriting.

"Who could have sent this? The only guy that remembers what roses I like is James," said Andy aloud to herself.

Noticing what time it was, she quickly gave the rose one last look before she placed it in the center of the other roses. She pocketed the note and ran down the stairs as she stuffed her assignment into her bag. When she arrived in the common room, she almost ran head on into someone as he was heading out the portrait.

"Oh, sorry. Sirius!" said Andy as she recognized the boy.

"Sparky," he said with a nod as he held the door open for her. As she walked past him, she got a clearer view of his face.

In her opinion, he looked as if he hadn't gotten a decent night's rest for a few days. He was also looking a bit scruffy from not shaving in the past week or so, and his hair was all in disarray. So unlike the well combed look he was known for.

"How've you been?" he asked as they two of them headed down the hall toward McGonagall's class.

"I'm fine. But I think I should be asking you that question. What did you have a romp that got out of hand last night?" said Andy jokingly, hoping to lighten up the mood.

Sirius chuckled lightly at her comment before he answered her. "Something like that. Last night was a full moon."

Andy nodded in understanding when he uttered those words. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine. But he won't be in classes today," he said as the two of them walked through one of the short cuts to their Transfiguration class.

"How are you feeling?" she asked when she noticed how quite he was and the slight limp in his step.

"Oh…I've been better," Sirius grimaced.

"Have you been to the hospital wing to get checked out?" she asked full of concern. Sirius looked at her and gave her a small smile in hopes to ease the worried look in her eyes.

"No, like I said I'm fine," he said as brightly as he could. As they continued to walk toward their class, Sirius began to grab a hold of his side and moaned in pain.

"Uh…no offense, but you don't really look fine to me," commented Andy.

"Geez, Sparky, why can't you just…ah!" moaned Sirius as he grabbed a hold of his side and winced in pain.

"What?" asked Andy with a worried tone in her voice.

"It's nothing," growled Sirius.

"Bullocks!" said Andy harshly. She noticed an empty classroom and began to pull him inside. "Would you just get in here. Now what is it?"

"I said it's nothing," said Sirius as he leaned against one of the desks.

"Liar. Let me see," she said came towards him.

"No, I said I'm fine," barked Sirius as he tried to fend himself off from Andy. "Ouch! Quit it! Cut it out! I said I'm fine!"

"What the hell? Sirius you're bleeding!" she yelled when she noticed the crimson stain on his white shirt.

"Well I wasn't until you touched the damn thing," yelled Sirius.

Andy used her wand to quickly unbutton his shirt so she could look at the cut. "Why didn't you go see Madam Pomfrey?"

"Because she would have asked how I got it. I was going later today and tell her I did it while hexing someone or playing Quidditch," hissed Sirius.

"Well it looks like you're going sooner," said Andy with authority.

"NO! If I go, then I run the risk of exposing everything. I can't do that!" said Sirius as he grabbed a hold of her arm to make her understand.

Andy knew he was right so she thought of the next best thing. "Well then could you hold still then?"

Sirius let go of her arm as he eyed her curiously. "What are you going to do?"

"Turn you into a toad. What do you think I'm going to do?" said Andy.

"Turn me into a toad!" said Sirius a little worried at the sight of Andy pointing her wand at him.

"Just hold still you big baby," sighed Andy as she rolled her eyes. She quickly muttered a spell and the deep cut on his side slowly closed up.

"There, that's the best I could do. But you may want to have the nurse make sure it stays closed and that there are no broken bones," she said as she ran her fingers over where the wound was once visible.

"Thanks," said Sirius as he tried to best to not shake at the feeling of Andy's hands against his skin. "W-where did you learn how to do that?"

"Madam Pomfrey," she said simply oblivious to what she was actually doing the boy. "After being a victim of the Marauder's pranks so many times, you kind of pick up a few things along the way."

At that moment, she looked up into his eyes that were uncommon to her. The mischievous sparkle that usually graced his grey pools was no longer there. Instead it was replaced with something she'd never seen before in his eyes, but in guys she had previously dated.

The normal look of lust was something she'd seen and handled before, but this…this was different. There was something else hidden in his pools that she couldn't quite place. The more she looked into them, the more she felt that he could penetrate her very soul with his gaze. She suddenly became aware of how his muscles contracted so much while she lightly ran his fingers over his skin. Her breath began to heighten a little as she felt Sirius's breath on her cheek.

"What are you doing?" she said in a whisper as her breathing became more labored.

"That was going to be my question," he said a low husky voice that sent chills through Andy. He slowly lifted his hand and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, while his thumb lightly traced her cheek. Sirius began to lean in toward her soft pink lips that he desperately wanted to touch.

Andy was quickly losing all sense of the normal world and entered a world that she and Sirius created together. She felt as if her senses were on fire and was about to burst in anticipation. But as quickly as she felt this odd sensation, it slowly disappeared when she heard a group of students running to get to class. Both of them looked at the each other and the state they were in, but neither wanted to move away.

"We should get going, or McGonagall will have our heads," said Andy quickly. Sirius nodded in agreement and took a step away from her. Andy was grateful that he was the first to move, but also sad at the same time.

"You're right," he said as he began to button up his shirt. "Besides, that really would put a bit of a damper on your birthday."

Andy blinked surprisingly at the boy before her. "Y-you remembered it was my birthday?" she stuttered.

"Yes. Plus Tristan's little gift this morning was a nice reminder too," he said with a bit of hostility in his voice that went unnoticed by Andy.

She looked at him quizzically until she realized what he was talking about. "Oh, yeah, the roses."

"How are things between you two?" he asked as he used a cleaning spell on his stained shirt.

"There okay," said Andy offhandedly. She really wasn't comfortable with talking about Tristan with Sirius, and was eager to get away as fast as possible.

"Just okay? With the way you've been smiling?" he said brightly trying to lighten up the mood but failing miserably.

"Things are great," said Andy politely, knowing that he wasn't going to drop it.

"Are you happy?" he asked in a strange tone to Andy.

She looked at him and couldn't make out what was going through his head at the moment, but the sight of the boy before her was almost heartbreaking to see. "Yes, I am," she said truthfully.

Sirius bowed his head for a moment and muttered "Good. I'm glad for you."

"I'm lucky to have him in my life," she said they both left the classroom.

"If you ask me, he's the lucky one."

"Why do you say that?" she chuckled.

"Because he'd be a fool not to realize what kind of star you really are," he said truthfully. Andy stopped in her tracks the moment his words hit her ears.

"What did you say?"

"I said he'd be a fool not to realize what kind of girl you really are," he said smoothly. Andy shook her head as she stared at him, wondering if she had heard him wrong.

"Oh!" was all she said.

"What did you think I said?" he asked.

"Uh…nothing. Just forget it. Come on, we'll be late," she said as she began to head toward the door to her classroom. Sirius was standing behind her with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Hey Sparky," he said suddenly.

"What Blackie?" she asked a little annoyed.

"Happy Birthday," he said simply and pulled her in for a quick warm hug.

She smiled brightly at him once he let her go. "Thank you."

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I only own this story and the characters I made up. Everything else belongs J.K. Rowling.


	34. Slipped Away

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Thirty-four: Slipped Away**

The next couple of days went by fairly fast. Before anyone knew it, the weekend was upon them. Most of the students had decided to take a break from studying and enjoy the warm weather outside. All except for Lily and Everett. They on the other hand could be found in the library working on their studies. Well…at least one was.

Since there talk a few days ago, Lily couldn't get James out of her mind. She found herself once again daydreaming about what it was like to kiss him and be with him. He seemed to bring the best out of her and showed her that is was okay to have fun more often then usual.

"Lily? Lily?" called a voice from a distance. Lily blinked back into reality and saw that her boyfriend had been talking to her.

"Lily, what's wrong?" asked Everett.

"Nothing," lied Lily. "Just stressed out because of classes."

"You shouldn't be," said Everett with a smile. "You are the best student in your year."

"No I'm not," said Lily defensively.

"Yes you are," he said warmly. He then closed up his book and began to pack up his things. "Come on."

Lily nodded and began to pack up her things. "Where are we going?"

"Just follow me."

Once they were outside of the library, Everett pulled out a handkerchief and tied it around Lily's head like a mask.

"What are you doing?" inquired Lily a little miffed.

"It's a surprise," was all he said.

Lily felt like an idiot being led around the castle by her boyfriend blindfolded. From the senses and memory Lily was pretty good in visualizing what path they were taking. Everett led Lily down the various corridors trying to throw her off as they headed for the front doors of the school. Once outside though, Lily's mental picture was gone. The high winds for the day swept between the two of them, and nearly knocked Lily off her feet, as Everett weaved too and fro throughout the grounds confusing the heck out of Lily. After a good length of time and a few gusty winds that impaired their journey, Lily was about to tell him off when he suddenly stopped.

"Are we there yet?" asked Lily trying to hid her anger. She didn't receive a response from him. Instead, he silently walked behind her and untied the handkerchief from her head. Lily blinked a couple of times to regain her correct vision and saw that she was now standing in the middle of the Quidditch field. She looked around as waves of complex emotions coursed through her body. 'Is this some sort of joke or punishment?' she though.

"What's going on?"

"Well, I know you once told me you wanted to learn how to fly properly. So…I'm going to teach you," said Everett brightly.

"Oh…but," started Lily. She really didn't mind the gesture he was doing, but secretly she never wanted to climb back on a broom again.

"No buts. Come on now, it's not that hard."

Lily consented to his demands. Soon the two of them had mounted their brooms that Everett had gotten from the supply closet and were up in the air. For nearly twenty minutes Lily listened to Everett as he barked orders to her, while she fought to stay on her broom. The more she listened to him, the more she wished that James was the one shouting instructions at her. At least he knew how to teach someone to fly a broom without making them feel like a complete imbecile.

"Come on, Lily. You can do it," said Everett as he climbed higher into the air.

"Everett, it's too high!" shouted Lily as she tried her hardest to steady her broom in the strong winds.

"Nonsense, the air is great up here," called Everett.

Lily took a deep breath and rose a few more feet up into the air. By the time she had reached Everett, she was more than a hundred feet into the air.

"See I told you it was easy," said Everett with a wide smile.

At that moment James, Sirius, and Peter came out onto the field to practice for a bit.

"Prongs are you sure you want to practice today?" asked Sirius as he tried to keep his hair out of his face.

"Of course! Why not?" said James a little agitated.

"Umm…well…although you know I'm always up for pushing things to the extreme, don't you think it's a tad bit too windy out here? Even by our standards?" he asked. The three boys looked up at the sky and saw a bird fly into the air and quickly fall out of the sky by the gusts of wind.

James simply shrugged his shoulders. "All the more reason to practice, Padfoot. I want this team to be the best flyers Hogwarts have ever seen."

"James we already are," exasperated Sirius. Peter nodded in agreement. Sirius saw Peter's actions and merely rolled his eyes a bit before turning back to James.

"Besides the team isn't even out here."

"Yeah, why is that? Where is everyone? I thought you said you'd round them up?" asked James a little miffed.

"Everyone else is busy. Robin's studying for N.E. as well as Bryan. And, both of our beaters are studying for their O.W.L.s," said Sirius as he fought to keep a piece of his hair out of him mouth.

"What about Andy?" James asked.

"Couldn't find her," said Sirius in an odd tone. "Probably off with that Tristan bloke again."

"Actually," said Peter, "she said this morning that she was going to the library to study for that Defense exam we have, and work on Transfiguration."

"Oh," said Sirius a little surprised and relieved. James noticed his best friend's reaction. Come to think about it, every time someone mentioned Andy or her new boyfriend around Sirius, he'd start to act very strangely.

"Is there something wrong between you and Andy?" asked James.

"Prongs, when has there been anything right between us?" said Sirius smoothly.

"True. But you two were getting along earlier in the year. Heck one might even assume that you two became friends," he commented.

"So what if we have," said Sirius a little defensively.

James was startled and blinked at his best mate's reaction. "Okay, now I know there is something going on."

"What are you getting on about?" asked Sirius. He kept his facial expression ice cold, but deep down he was slightly worried that his feelings for Andy were beginning to show publicly. Normally he wouldn't care if people knew who he was interested in. But with Andy it was different. He guessed that since most of their relationship had been kept a secret from public eyes for so long, so should his feelings for her.

"You never snap at me unless there's something or someone that's got you riled up," said James with a raised eyebrow.

"It's nothing," said Sirius as he brooded over his feelings.

"Right," said James staring him down.

Sirius mimicked James actions for a few moments before he cracked. He knew if he didn't tell him something now, he'd never let up. "I don't know. It just…that Tristan guy she's seeing now. He doesn't seem right for her."

"Actually he isn't that bad of a bloke at all," said James remembering the few times he talked to him in class. "I think he's almost perfect for her."

"Maybe, but I just don't trust him," said Sirius.

"Whatever," sighed James. Sirius took this opportunity to change topics a bit.

"What about you and Evans?" he asked.

"What about us?" inquired James unsure as to what he was getting at.

"I take it you too are still not talking to one another?"

"No, we talk. But only through owls," he stated simply.

"Why don't you just tell me what the hell happened between you two?" said a frustrated Sirius.

"It doesn't matter now," said James darkly.

"Well obviously it does. Come on now, it can't be that bad. I mean it's not like you kissed the poor girl," chuckled Sirius.

James remained silent as he walked over to the locker rooms to grab some of his padding.

"Bloody hell!" whispered Sirius as he ran to catch up with James. By the time he caught up with him he was already to the locker room doors. Sirius jumped in front of him to stop him from leaving the field.

"You did, didn't you? That's why you've been miserable for so long. You kissed Lily Evans," he said in amazement.

"So what if I did!" said James in a raised tone. "Still doesn't change the fact that she's not speaking to me."

Sirius had no response. He could see that his best mate was still upset over what happened. _'Knowing James'_, he thought, _'he probably feels like a right old git'_.

"Come on let's get out there before it gets too bad," said James.

The three boys then walked into the locker room to put on some of their Quidditch pads and walked onto the field. Once they got back onto the field they noticed that there were two people flying around the field.

"Looks like we'll have to take a rain check," said Sirius noticing the two flyers.

"Wait a minute. Isn't that Everett flying up there?" asked Peter.

"Looks like it," said Sirius. "But who's that up there with him."

All three of them watched as the other flyer fought to keep their broom steady. The more James watched her flying around, the more he recognized the red hair girl flying through the air.

"What the devil is she doing up there?" said an irate James. Not only was the sense of jealously sinking in, but also the feeling of anger towards Everett for taking her out on a day like today. "He knows she can't fly all that well. Everyone does!"

"Probably trying to give her a flying lesson," commented Sirius.

Upon hearing his words, James began to brood over the memory of their flying lesson.

"Everett I can't hold on!" shouted Lily. "It's too windy."

"Just do what I told you. Tuck you elbows in and lock your knees, and you'll steady out," yelled Everett.

Lily tossed backed and forth as the wind blew against her hard. "I'm trying but it's not working. I think I'm just going back down. AHHHH!"

At that moment, a huge gust of wind swept up and literally blew Lily off her broom.

"LILY!" shouted Everett as he tried to catch her.

"Oh shit," said Sirius as he watched Lily fall from the sky almost a hundred and ten feet in the air.

"Lily!" screamed James as he jumped onto his broom and bolted toward her with his wand extended. Sirius was right behind him, but both of them were blown slightly off course. They used their wands to try and slow her down enough for a soft landing, but they were only partly successful. Lily continued to fall and land with a slightly loud thud on the ground.

* * *

Andy was in the library working on her Transfiguration project; researching about how to transfigure inert objects and into useful everyday items such as a stove, a bed, or other such items that would be useful when traveling. As she hunched over in her chair coping down note after note, she was shocked to say the least when James's owl Bailey flew into the library and landed right on the book she was taking notes from.

"Boy, aren't you a little anxious today," she commented. _'Just like his owner._' Bailey held out his foot where a note was attached to it. She untied the parchment and began to read the scrawl.

_Come to the hospital wing now. Something's happened that you need to know. Sirius_

Andy re-read the note once more before she threw everything into her bag and bolted from the library.

As she came around the corner she skidded to a halt when she found Remus, Peter, and Sirius standing outside of the hospital wing. All three of them looked up when they heard her arrival.

"What is it? What's wrong? Did anything happen to James?" she asked when she noticed he wasn't among them. Sirius walked over towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her steady.

"Andy."

"What is it Sirius?" she asked quickly thinking the worst. "What happened to him?"

"James is fine. But...there's been an accident."

"An accident? But you just said he's..."

"He is...but..." he stuttered.

"Sirius, what is it?" she demanded.

"It's Lily."

"Lily? W-what happened?" she said in a low voice.

"Everett was giving her a flying lesson when she fell off her broom," he said with his head hung low. He couldn't bear to see the look in her eyes when he told her what happened to her friend.

"Flying lesson? In these winds?"

"That's what we said," said Remus and Sirius at the same time.

"How is she doing now?" she mumbled trying to digest what just happened.

"We don't know. She's in there with everyone else," said Remus.

"Who?"

"Madam Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore, James and Everett," squeaked Peter.

"Everett? What are they..."

"Talking to Dumbledore about what happened," said Remus. Andy stood there for a moment taking in what they had just told her. When her eyes caught the hospital wing doors, she began to march over towards them.

"Andy, what are you doing?" said Sirius.

"I want to see her."

"Andy, no!" said all three of them.

"I want to see her!" yelled Andy as she ripped opened the doors startling everyone in the room.

Andy saw that Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore were standing across from Everett and James in the middle of the hospital wing, along with Madam Pomfrey. She looked over to the left and saw her best friend lying in a bed where a white cloth was magically wrapping around her head.

"What is the meaning of this? Ms. Starmenter, what do you think..." yelled McGonagall.

"It's alright Minerva. Come in everyone, we're almost done here." called Dumbledore.

As Andy walked into the room with the three boys behind her, she saw that Lily's right arm was also in a sling, and she had a few bruises showing on her arms and left cheek. To her, it felt like a case of deja vu, only the roles were reversed. At that moment Karen, Felicia, and Kelly came running through the doors and halted abruptly when they saw everyone.

"Where is..." started Kelly until she saw Andy walking toward Lily's bed.

"Oh my!" cried Karen.

"Who did this?" asked Felicia darkly. Andy looked up at her group of friends as she began to come out of her somewhat trance. She saw that James was now standing next to Dumbledore staring at Lily's bed. As for Everett, who was standing on the other side of Dumbledore, he looked terrified at the sight of his girlfriend's state.

"What happened to her?" asked Felicia a little annoyed.

"Why don't you ask her boyfriend here," said James darkly. Everett looked as if he was about to jump out of his own skin when he heard James utter his name.

"I...I..." stuttered Everett.

"Ms. Evans had a nasty fall out on the Quidditch field," said Dumbledore.

"Why was she out there?" asked Karen.

"Headmaster I really must ask for you all to leave so that I can tend to my patient," said Pomfrey.

"Very well Pomfrey. Everyone let us all leave our nurse to her job. We are finished here," said Dumbledore.

"Professor...can we..." started Andy.

"Yes, of course you may stay outside until Madam Pomfrey says so."

"Thank you."

Everyone at that moment filed out of the hospital wing, while the professors walked down the corridor in silence. As for the small cluster of students, outside the now closed doors of the hospital wing, the air around them felt razor sharp, as if at any moment now all hell was about to break loose. Unable to with stain the silence any more, Karen was the first to speak.

"What happened to her?" she asked aloud, looking at the group of boys. Remus, Sirius and Peter were huddled together while Everett leaned up against the cold stone wall with his head gazing at the floor. As for James, he was silently staring out into the twilight sky from the window across the hall.

"Why was she out on that field?" she asked in general.

"Because Everett was giving her flying lessons," said Andy darkly, as she glared at Everett's state.

"What?" shrieked Kelly.

"How do you know that?" asked Felicia.

Andy blinked away from her death stare to look at her friends. "Blackie told me."

When she looked back at her best friend's boyfriend, Andy found that James was now standing in front of him with a look she'd never seen on his face before.

"Are you happy now?"

"Excuse me?" blinked Everett up at James.

"I said, 'Are you happy now?'" he repeated in a dark tone.

"No! You're mad, Potter," said Everett.

"That maybe true, but at least I know when the right time for a flying lesson is and when it isn't!" he roared.

"Don't start with me, Potter."

"Why not? You've been waiting to take me out of her life for awhile now. Well congratulations, you've got your wish."

"James," warned Andy not liking where this discussion was leading. The rest of the Marauders saw this too and decided to step in.

"Prongs, not here mate," said Sirius putting a hand on James's shoulder. He merely shrugged his hand off and didn't pay attention to what his two friends were saying.

"No. You've wanted me to stay away from Lily from the moment you found out I was her partner. Normally blokes would try to hex or hit me in order to send me a message, but I got to say this is a new one. Putting an innocent girl in a coma," growled James.

"James stop it," said Andy not wanting to break up a fight. "That's enough now."

"What you figured if you couldn't have her no one would either?" roared James as he began to advance on Everett. Sirius stepped up next to James and grabbed a hold of his arm, trying to keep him at bay.

"If I feel threatened by someone who is trying to steal my girlfriend, then yes." growled Everett as he gave James a deadly stare.

"I wasn't trying to steal her. She's not an object!" yelled James.

"Oh that's rich coming from someone who gets kicks out of kissing others girlfriends when he can't take the hint that he's nothing but a control freak who wants everything done his way or else he'll take it for himself."

"James, don't do it," said Remus.

"Everett, would you just shut up!" screamed Kelly. Both boys continued to ignore everything around them.

"You're nothing but a psychotic stalker who can't take no for an answer."

"Why you blimey little..." growled James as he lunged at Everett.

"Okay James that's enough playing for now," grunted Sirius as he grabbed a hold of James by he waist to restrain him. Andy and Felicia had run over to Everett and held both of his arms to hold him back as well.

"Stay out of this, Padfoot," barked James.

"I don't think so," said Sirius with a little bit of light humor. "Come on, let's got take a little walk." With that Sirius dragged James down the hall in order for his friend to cool down.

"Come on Everett, I think it's time you left," stated Andy. The boy blinked rapidly at her words with a confused look over his face.

"Me? Why should I? I'm her boyfriend! Not that bugger."

"Boyfriend?" asked Andy with raised eyebrows. "Do you really think that after this little stunt she's still going to stay with your sorry ass?"

Everett remained silent while looking anywhere but at Andy's face.

"You knew she wasn't a good flyer!" she exasperated.

"I know! That's why I wanted to teach her."

"But not in 80mph winds, Everett," barked Andy.

"I-I thought that the best..." he stuttered.

"No, you just thought that you could show Lily that James wasn't the only one who could teach her to fly," she stated with attitude.

Everett was lost for words. He stood there for a few moments opening and closing his mouth trying to find any words.

"I don't care what you say to me. I'm staying right here," he said firmly.

"The hell you are," said all four girls at once.

"If you think I'm afraid of Potter, then you're completely wrong," stated Everett.

"Potter is the least of your worries now," said Andy darkly. "The one you should be worried about doing something against you is me."

"What?"

"You heard me. If I find out that you were anywhere near her, I'll make your life a living hell. Stay away from Lily. Stay away from James, or else you'll wish you'd never even heard of my name," she growled darkly. With that said Andy stormed away from the group and went into a nearby empty classroom trying to cool down.

"Is she for real," he asked, white as a ghost now.

"Without a doubt," said Felicia coldly. "And if she doesn't hold true to her word, which is completely unlike her, I definitely will."

"Same goes for the rest of us," said an icy Kelly.

With nothing else to say and feeling slightly intimidated by the group of girls before him, Everett quietly bowed out and left the hospital wing.

* * *

Andy walked around the empty classroom muttering to herself trying to keep her temper in check. She couldn't begin to fathom what was going through Everett's head. All she could think about was the fact that her best friend was in a hospital bed right now, possibly in a coma like she was. As visions of Lily passed through her head, Andy began to feel guiltier for not being there. Since she had become friends with the other girls, everyone had their own little role to play. Felicia was the flirty one. Kelly was the artistic one. Karen the compassionate one. Lily the level headed one. As for Andy, she was seen as the somewhat protector. She was the first to stop any trouble that came along their way, no matter if it landed herself in trouble. Everyone kind of thought it was second nature to her since she was now the eldest of four siblings. She always was keeping an eye out for her little brother and sisters, so it wasn't a surprise that she would act the same way toward her friends.

But with this unofficial responsibility, Andy always took it to heart. No matter what happened to any of them, she would always feel responsible. Even if she had no control over it.

Sirius had left James alone in order for him to calm down a bit. He knew that no matter what he said, James would not listen to him. He would forever feel like he let Lily down when she needed him the most. Sirius felt emotionally drained as he walked down the hallway back toward the hospital wing. As he walked past an open door of an empty classroom, he heard a desk or two be pushed around. He popped his head in and found a livid Andy muttering to herself as she pushed a couple of desks and chairs.

"Andy?" he said after a few moments had past.

"WHAT?" yelled Andy as she spun around to find Sirius at the door. "Oh...hi," she said a little distraught.

"How are you doing?"

"I've been better," she said as she looked down at the floor. "Did you see the little confrontation I had with Everett?"

"No. But I kind of figured you make it well known that if he came near Evans again, you'd hex him," he said with a small smirk.

"That stupid idiot!" she growled. "You know some days I just like to...urgh!"

"Hey, calm down, Sparky. We don't need you blowing a blood vessel in that pretty little blond head of yours," he said charmingly.

"That's something Lily would tell me," she said in a haunting tone. "She'd always be the one to tell me to calm down or she'd put me under a hex."

"Now that doesn't sound like our perfect little Lily," commented Sirius.

Andy chuckled a bit at his responds. "You obviously never hung out with her long enough to know how she treated her friends."

"Well, I guess I'll have to make sure to arrange some time with Ms. Evans."

"Yeah, that's if she wakes up," she said in a strange tone.

"Of course she will. What are you talking about," said Sirius.

Andy shook her head absent mindedly. "Nothing. Just forget it." With that, she began to head toward the door that was behind Sirius. But as she passed him, he grabbed a hold of her arm so that she would look at him.

"Sparky, what is it?" he asked as he searched her face and eyes.

"Nothing. It's just..." she said trailing off.

"Just what?"

Andy let out a deep sigh as she looked up into Sirius's eyes. "I'm just remembering something Lily and I use to talk about."

Andy pulled out of Sirius's grip and walked absent minded around the room. "After we get out of here, we were going to have all these plans, and we could do everything best friends would do. We were going to live our days in Avalon."

"Excuse me?" said a confused Sirius.

"It's a saying my gran use to tell me. Avalon was supposed to be this place of peace, beauty, and harmony, as well as joy. But since not everyone could live there physically, we can only live there in our hearts."

"That's really prophetic," he said admiring her words.

"Yeah...but to bad it's only a fantasy."

"How do you know?"

"Because it is only a fantasy. Nothing here is really real. Only...this," she said with open arms. She shook her head as she looked to the floor.

"Hey. Hey what is it?" he asked.

"I just remembered I have to tell Lil's family what happened and I need to get back to the rest of them," she said quickly. "I'm sure Karen and Felicia are a couple of basket cases right now."

Sirius could see the physical pain in her face. As she headed towards the door, he saw tears forming in her eyes.

Before she could leave, he grabbed a hold of her again and spun her around so that she was now directly in front of him.

"What is it, Miranda," he said in a sweet soothing voice.

"Nothing. Just let me go," she begged.

"No. I'm not letting you go," he said as he pulled her closer to him in an embrace. Andy tried with all her might to wiggle her way out of his hold, but he wouldn't let up.

"Just let it out, Miranda," he said soothingly as he held her firmly while she fought him. "It's okay."

After a few moments, he could feel her begin to give in as her body went limp in his arms.

"It's okay," he repeated over and over again, as he stroked her head soothingly.

"I don't want to loose my best friend," sobbed Andy as she clung to him. "I don't want to feel like this. I don't want to feel helpless, anymore."

"She'll be fine," he said in low voice. "Hey, if you could pull through it, she can."

Andy took a couple of deep breaths as Sirius continued to hold her. He could feel all her pain, wash on to him. As he looked down at her tear stained face, his could feel his heart break into two. He knew that no matter what happened between them, he'd never wanted to see tears on her face again.

"I'm sorry," said Andy after a few moments of silence. She pulled away a bit to whip away her tears. As she raised a hand to wipe away a tear on her cheek, Sirius's hand quickly covered her cheek as he ran his thumb across her cheek.

"Don't be," he said softly. "You know, you don't always have to be the tough one. It's okay to be...normal in front of everyone."

"This coming from a guy who still acts like a first year," she said jokingly.

"I'm a child at heart," he said with a shrug. "What can I say?"

Andy couldn't help but chuckle at the adorable smile he was giving her now. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it, princess," he said sweetly.

Looking at him now, Andy's heart began to ache with want. At that moment, she would give anything to be in his arms like she was before. To have his hand touch her face like was before. To have his lips on top of hers.

Sirius didn't know if he could control his desire any longer. See her as she was now, so tempting. He didn't care if it was wrong. He didn't care if she had a boyfriend who she was crazy about. He didn't care if she knew exactly how he felt for her and desired her. He was crazy about her. He wanted more than anything now to have her as his own.

Andy didn't know what to do anymore. She could almost feel herself being pulled towards him, like a giant magnet. She looked away in hopes that this strong desire would go away, but it wouldn't. As she looked towards the door, she saw an image flash by of a boy with brown hair.

"Tristan," called Andy. Sirius looked at her as if she had slapped him. It was then that he noticed her boyfriend now standing in the door way. He painfully let go of her as she took a step back.

"Hey, I got here as soon as I heard," he said while trying to catch his breath. He walked over towards Andy and held her while giving her a quick peck on the lips.

Sirius's hand instantly clutched together at the sight of his display of affection.

"How are you? How's Lily?" he asked Andy.

"We don't know yet," said Andy as she clung to Tristan.

"I'll go and see if there's any news," said Sirius feeling as if he were about to be sick. As he walked past the couple, Tristan grabbed a hold of Sirius's shirt to get his attention, while still holding Andy.

"Thanks," he whispered to him. Sirius merely nodded as he walked away from the two of them feeling sick to his stomach.

Sirius tried his best to keep his emotional turmoil in check when he returned to the hospital wing doors. He found the girls sitting on the floor waiting silently along with Peter. Remus was leaning against the wall as he stared at the floor. As for James, he was standing near the window looking out at the grounds.

"Hey, how's she doing?" he asked James as he walked up next to him.

"We don't know yet. I should have gotten to her sooner," said James in a low voice.

"You did what you could mate. There was no way you could know this would happen. Plus with the winds..."

"I know. I know," sighed James as he rubbed his tired eyes. He noticed that Andy had returned with Tristan as she went over to talk to Remus and Karen.

"It's a wonder that you didn't get thrown from your broom. Why did you want to practice today?" asked Sirius.

"I don't know. I wasn't thinking," muttered James. Silently he reflected on the pain he was feeling before Lily's accident. He wanted to feel reckless, and do anything that would get Lily out of his head. But the sight of her falling like that scared him to death. "My mind was else where, I guess."

"I know where it was," said Sirius knowingly. At that moment, the hospital wing doors opened and Madam Pomfrey stepped out.

"Madam Pomfrey! How is she?" asked Andy.

"She's alright," stated Madam Pomfrey to the group of students. "She had a few broken ribs and a broken leg, but she will be alright. You boys did a great job trying to slow her fall."

Everyone began to breath a sigh of relieve. Everyone...except for James.

"Has she woken up yet?" asked James.

"I'm afraid not. But there is hope she'll wake up soon."

"Can we see her?" asked Andy, noticing the look of worry on James's face.

"One at a time," nodded the nurse.

"Go on Andy," said Tristan in a low voice.

"No. Jay should be the one to go first," said Andy looking at James. James blinked rapidly upon hearing his name. He looked at each person as he began to walk into the now dark hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey.

There on the bed was Lily, still asleep and in her pajamas now. Her head and arm and leg were wrapped up for the time being. Although she had been through hell, to James she had never looked more perfect in his eyes.

"I'll be in my office if you need me," said the nurse.

He silently walked over to her bed and took a seat next to her. He could see her chest rise and fall ever so slightly. She looked so peaceful. He blamed himself for not being quick enough to catch her. In his mind, a life without Lily in it was a life he couldn't bare. Even if she never talked to him again, just knowing that she was alright would be enough for him.

Silent tears began to trickle down his face as he took a hold of her hand.

"Lily? Can you hear me? It's...James," he said quietly, praying that she would open her eyes. "Oh Lily..." he sobbed. "I'm...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I wasn't fast enough. I'm sorry. Please Lily...please wake up. We need you. I need you." James placed his head on her bed next to her hand he was holding.

He didn't care if anyone saw now how much he cared for the girl in bed. All he wanted more than anything at that moment was to hear her voice.

"James?" she said in a groggy voice. James's lifted his head quickly and let out a small gasp. Lily was now blinking slowly while looking at him.

"Lily?" he whispered softly. She moved her head a bit and let out a groan of pain. When her vision finally came back into normal focus, she saw the boy with a tear stained face stare at her. At that moment, she didn't care that she wasn't talking to him anymore. She was happy to see him there.

"Hi," was all she could manage to say.

"Hi."

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except this story and the characters I made up. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling.


	35. I Feel Bad

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Thirty-five: I Feel Bad**

Lily spent the next week or so in the hospital wing. It wasn't until one Saturday afternoon that she was finally allowed to leave.

"Hey easy there Evans. You shouldn't be lifting that," stated Felicia.

"Oh, Figg would you relax. She's not going to break," said Andy as she helped Lily pack some of her things into a bag.

"Oh I wouldn't talk if I were you," snapped Felicia. "At least I didn't ask the nurse if she should be in a wheelchair."

Andy glared at Felicia for a moment. "Hey she started to stumble," she said defensively.

"Because of your feet," comment Felicia.

"Oh. Right. Yeah."

Lily gave an exasperated sigh as she rolled her eyes at her two best friends. "Would you two cows please stop your jabbering. I'd like to get out of here please. Today if possible."

"You've got it," comment Felicia as she grabbed a hold of some of Lily's books.

"Let's blow this joint," added Andy as she swung the bag she was packing over her shoulder.

The three girls left the hospital wing quickly and headed for their common room before they went off to enjoy the nice spring day outside. That was until they ran into Everett.

"Hello Lily," said Everett timidly. Andy and Felicia glared daggers at the boy who almost killed Lily.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" barked Felicia. Everett chose to ignore the two girls and continued his attention on Lily.

"I thought about asking if I could spare a few moments of your time, Lily," he said sweetly.

"And I thought I told you that if I found you anywhere near her I'd break you bloody legs," spat Andy as she took a threatening step toward him. Everett's reflexes caused him to jump back a bit at the blonde.

"Actually, I think you said you'd make his life a living hell," whispered Felicia.

"Felicia, please," sighed Andy in annoyance.

Everett shook his head and took a deep breath to free himself of his nervousness. "Lily...please. I just want a few moments in private."

"Sorry. Can't," barked Andy.

"She's busy," added Felicia.

"Actually, I think I can do that," said Lily. Both Andy and Felicia stared at their friend as if she had grown an extra head.

"Lily! Have you gone insane? Don't you..." started Felicia.

"I know. But...there are some things I have to say to him too," said Lily while looking at her boyfriend.

Andy grabbed a hold of her friend's arm to get her attention. "Are you sure?" she asked as she looked directly at her best friend.

Lily nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."

Andy watched her friend closely and noticed that she had a fire in her eyes that she only saw on rare occasions. "Okay, but

don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"I'm not going to," said Lily darkly. Andy shook her head in understanding.

"So be it. Come on Figg, let's take this stuff back up to the room," said Andy as she motioned for Felicia to follow.

"Alright," sighed Felicia in defeat as she glared at Everett for a moment before she caught up with Andy.

"I can't believe that you just..." she whispered loudly.

"She knows what she's doing," whispered Andy in the same tone. "Now shut that whole in your face before I put a cork in it."

Lily couldn't help but laugh at her two friends conversation before she turned her attention to Everett.

Everett gave a week smile before running a hand through his dark brown hair. "How are you doing?"

Lily tucked a strand a her dark auburn hair behind her ear before she folded her arms in front of her. "Much better. No thanks to you," she said darkly.

Everett slightly cringed at her words but knew he had it coming. He did almost kill her after all. "Well...you look great," he said weakly trying to make small talk.

"Everett...what is this about?" asked a highly annoyed Lily.

"I wanted to apologize for what happened. I should have never taken you out in those conditions," he said quickly in a pleading tone.

"Well there's a no brainier," said Lily in an undertone.

He sighed deeply trying to build up the confidence he needed. "Lily, I'm sorry. I know I messed up...big time. But if you can find it in you heart to forgive me, I promise I'll never hurt you like that again."

Lily stood there a moment listening to his words and looked as if she were contemplating on the idea of forgiving him and moving on. But that look only lasted for that moment.

"You're right," said Lily in a slightly dark tone. "You won't hurt me again. Because you will never come near me again."

"Whoa...wait...what do you mean?" said a confused Everett as fear began to creep in his actions and tone.

"I mean we're done. I'm tired of trying to prove myself to you even when there is nothing to prove," exclaimed Lily as she let what she had been feeling for the past few weeks finally let loose.

"But, Lily. I said I was sorry," pleaded Everett.

"And that's suppose to make things better? Everett, you almost killed me!" said an emotionally drained Lily.

"I know, but...I...wait. I know what this is about," said Everett who's tone turned a little harsher. "This is Potter's doing, isn't it?"

"Oh give me a break!" laughed Lily.

"It's true. He put you up to this, didn't he?" he accused.

"No, he didn't! This has nothing to do with James. This has to deal with me and your extreme jealousy over things that don't even exist," roared Lily.

"But you..."started Everett, until he was cut off.

"No! I'm tired Everett of you're manipulations and arguing with you about this subject over and over again. We are done. It's over! Good-bye."

With that Lily quickly walked away from Everett leaving him standing their bewildered at what had just occurred. Once she was a safe distance away from him and knew that he wouldn't come looking for her, she leaned up against the wall and began to take in everything that just happened. She had just gone through her first break up, which really didn't go as she expected. As she began to come off her adrenaline rush, the slight pain of regret began to inch its way into her heart. A few tears began to form in her eyes, but no more. Needing to get some air, and not really wanting to have to tell her friends about what happened just yet, Lily walked toward the entrance hall and out the front door.

It was a warm spring afternoon with just a hint of summer coming soon. Lily walked aimlessly among the grounds until she came a tree by the lake that she sometimes sits under while doing her homework.

'_Why did he have to bring James into the conversation? It's not like he has this spell over me that made me want to break up with him,'_ she thought. _'Why does he have to be so difficult?'_

She contemplated her thoughts while enjoying the nice breeze that was coming off the lake.

* * *

Elsewhere on the Hogworts grounds James and Sirius were helping out Hagrid with the new batch of Hippogriffth eggs he had acquired.

"These beauties be perfect for around here," said Hagrid happily.

"Yeah if you don't mind getting ripped to shreds every now and then," said Sirius quietly to James. James couldn't help but let out a laugh as the three of them continued on making a nest for the eggs to keep them warm.

When they were almost done with the nest Hagrid stood up straight to get the kink out of his back when he noticed Lily sitting by the lake looking sort of lost.

"Hmm...wonder what's got hur all upset?" said Hagrid aloud.

"What are you talking about," asked James as he looked up at the half giant.

"Well take a look for yer self," commented the friendly Hagrid as he pointed toward the lake. Both boys stopped what they were doing and saw what he was talking about. "Hur of course."

"That's Lily!" exclaimed James recognizing her auburn anywhere. "What is she doing out of the hospital wing?"

"She must have gotten released from hospital today," commented Sirius before going back to work.

"She looks a lot better from the last time I saw hur," said Hagrid before he went into his hut to retrieve something.

Sirius noticed that James was still staring at her from afar. He lightly chuckled to himself at his best friend's obvious display of affection toward the red haired girl. He gave James a little nudge in the arm to get his attention.

"Prongs, why don't you go over there and talk to her?" he asked.

"What? And miss out on this?" said James as if his friend had just insulted him.

"You really expect me to believe that when you have been dying to talk to her since her accident?" asked Sirius with a raised eyebrow.

"I haven't been 'dying' to see her," said James in defense.

"James get up and go over and talk to her before jam this twig up your arse," grunted Sirius while holding a slightly large twig.

"Okay. Okay. Geez, and I thought Andy was bad enough," said James jokingly. Sirius slightly glared at him while trying to mask the feelings that wanted to escape at the sound of her name.

James walked over toward the tree that Lily was sitting under while taking a number of deep breaths to calm his nerves down. He couldn't really understand why he was acting this way. This was Lily after all. The same Lily that nearly died nearly a week ago. The same Lily that he couldn't imagine a world without.

He noticed that she was now curled up into a small ball, with her arms wrapped around her legs near her chest. He guess she was deep in thought because she didn't notice that he was now standing right next to her.

"And what are you doing out of bed, young lady?" asked James jokingly. Lily simply looked up at the slightly tall boy and gave him a weak smile.

"Hello James," she said politely.

"Hmm...that's odd," said James as he squatted down to Lily's height.

"What is?" Lily asked a little curious and annoyed.

"Most people who've been in the hospital wing for a week are usually ecstatic to be out," he said with a lopsided grin.

"I am," she responded while looking at her knees.

James took a small deep breath before he sat fully down on the ground next to Lily looking out toward the lake. "What's going on Lily?"

"I walked out on Everett," she said simply.

James blinked a couple of times before her words actually registered in his brain. "You guys broke up? W-when?" he said a little bewildered.

"About ten minutes ago," she said as he watched his reaction. He was silent for a few moments digesting the news he wanted to hear for months now.

"Wow," was all he seemed to say.

"Yeah. It didn't really go all that well."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said while looking down at the grass. Lily gave him a looked that caused him to look up at her. He could see in her eyes that she didn't believe him.

"No really. I am," stated James. All Lily could do was laugh at his attempt to make her believe him.

"James," she said with a giggle.

"Okay for the most part I'm not. But I am sorry for what caused you to break up with him," he said honestly.

"You're sorry for his stupidity?" she asked trying to be funny.

"You know what I mean."

The two of them sat there for a few moments in silence just enjoying the nice spring day. But more for the fact that neither knew what to say next.

"You want to know something?" asked Lily suddenly looking directly into James's hazel eyes. He merely nodded at her to continue, for her current distance was having an effect on his voice at the moment.

"I thought I would be heartbroken with breaking up with him, but I'm not. I don't really feel anything," she said in slightly confused tone. "Does that make me a bad person?"

"Of course not!" said James abruptly at her words. "Lily...why would ever think such a thing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she said in a ghost like whisper. James stared at her for a moment until the realization of what she was really talking about hit him.

"No, you are not a bad person," he said sweetly as he took a hold of her hand gently. "You are the exact opposite. You are a wonderful person who cares very deeply about those who are close to her heart."

Lily couldn't help the light headed feeling when James grabbed a hold of her hand and began to lightly rub his thumb across her knuckles. She could feel her cheeks begin to redden and her heart rate began to rise.

"How?" she said softly as she slowly pulled away from James.

"Excuse me?" he asked completely confused.

"How is it that you are able to make me feel better when no else really can?"

James looked straight into her bright green eyes and felt something stir in the pit of his stomach. "Naturally I guess," he said as aloof as he could make it.

The look in her eyes was one that he had never really seen before. Normally guys that would be put in this kind of situation would act on it quickly. This he learned from living with Sirius for six years. But for some reason...he just couldn't do it.

"I should be getting back to Hagrid and Sirius," he said suddenly. Lily blinked a couple of times at his actions in confusion until she realized just how long she had been gone for.

"Yeah, I should be heading back too," she said as both of them began to get up. "They've probably already sent out the search party for me."

James gave a little chuckle before she gave her a quick hug. "I'll see you around Lily."

"Yeah. See you."

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Look I'm not J.K. Rowling. I don't own the whole Harry Potter world. I only own this story and the characters I made up. Everything else belongs to her.


	36. Going Under

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Thirty-six: Going Under**

The next two weeks or so went by in a blur. All of the students fifth year and above were concentrating on studying for their exams and finals. Lily and James pretty much ignored each other saved for the few hours they spent together while in class. Sirius and Andy knew better than to try to get them together now. Granted Lily and James were both very single now, but too much damage had been done. For now the only thing they could do is let them be for a moment.

Sirius was getting a little tired of schoolwork and the lack of excitement in his life, as were the rest of the Marauders. But that all would change one Tuesday afternoon.

James and Sirius walked into the Great Hall for lunch still reaming about the pop quiz they just had in their potions class.

"Can you believe that? Think old Slughorn has finally lost it,"commented Sirius as he continued to rub his head.

"Oh come on mate, it wasn't that bad," said James tiredly. As they walked into the hall James instantly scanned the room and found where Lily and her friends were sitting. An old habit that just didn't seem to want to go away.

"Yeah, right, I'd be surprised if I got two points on that stupid quiz," grunted Sirius as the two of them sat down next to Remus and Peter.

"I told you to read the last two chapters he assigned," said a very tired and sick looking Remus as he played with his food.

"How's it going, Moony?" asked Sirius noticing his friend's state.

"I've had better days," he replied weakly.

"Is it bad this month?" asked James in a low voice.

"When isn't it bad,"commented Sirius. .

"Yeah, it's a little worse this month," said Remus as he tried to eat some of his mash potatoes.

"Are you going to make it," asked Peter shyly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine Wormtail," said Remus with a small smile. "I just can't wait for this too be over with for this month."

"Do you not want us to come this time?" asked James as he looked around to make sure no one else was listening.

Remus shrugged his shoulder as he looked down at his plate. "I don't know."

"Well what do we have here?" said a voice coming from behind Remus and James. All four of the boys looked up and gave a sigh of relief when they saw it was Andy.

"A couple of misfits planning to dominate the world one prank at a time?" she said cheerfully as she took the empty seat on the other side of Remus.

"Andy, now isn't a good time," said James a little annoyed.

She gave the group a quizzical look before asking what was the matter.

"It's none of your business," said Peter trying to act tough. Sirius glared at him for amoment until Peter remembered who exactly they were talking too.

"It's Moony," Sirius said simply.

"Huh?" she said before turning toward her friend. She saw that he was now paler than usual and was trying his best not to scream in pain. "Oh! Right...that problem."

"Urgh," groaned Remus as he hunched over a bit grabbing his sides.

"Are you going to be sick?" asked James quickly. He was ready to spring into action to help his friend get too the loo or to Madame Pomfrey's office.

"No...cramps," he grimaced.

"Try taking a deep breaths while rubbing your stomach a little," said Andy as she grabbed a piece of bread. All four of the boys looked at her as if she had suddenly grown an extra set of limbs and head. "Just try it!"

Remus did as she told and with in a few moments the pain started to subside. "That seemed to help a little," he said a bit shocked.

"Hey how did you know that would work?" said Peter in amazement.

"Remus isn't the only one who has to deal with monthly cramps," said Andy a little darkly. All four of the boys looked at her oddly until it dawned on three of them.

James hung his head in disgust, while Remus blushed a bit before talking a drink from his glass. Sirius on the other hand chuckled lightly to himself while shaking his head.

"Huh?" questioned Peter who wasn't understanding what was so wrong.

"It's over your head Pete," said James as he glared at Andy.

"When are you going out?" she asked changing the subject before Peter started asking questions.

"Tomorrow night," said Sirius before taking a drink from his glass.

"I'm not sure if you guys should come this time," said Remus in a hushed voice.

"Moony it's not like this is the first time we're doing this," stated Sirius who was eager for some action. "We'll be fine, and ready to reek havoc over the land."

"Is that so?" said a low voice from behind Sirius. None of them had noticed Severus Snape come up right next to them. All five of them had a look of horror on their face, especially Remus. Each not knowing how long he had been there.

"Well by all means, please tell the world what kind of havoc you and your lot are going to cause tomorrow," he said oily.

Sirius gave a low growl as he glared at Snape.

"That's none of your business, Snivellus," barked James, ready to attack if it came down to that.

"Ah, if it isn't the wing man. I don't think anyone was talking to you," stated Snape as he glared daggers at James.

"Funny. I was about to say the same thing about you," sneered James.

"Is that all you can come up with Potter?" retorted Snape.

James was about to pull out his wand before Andy had jumped up and grabbed a hold of his arm. He gave her an exasperated look as he tried to pull away from her grip.

"Jay, don't do it. You're in enough trouble with McGonagall as is with the stunt you pulled last week," she said in a warning tone.

"What this? Taking orders from a girl now, eh Potter?"said Severus with an evil smirk.

Andy glared darkly at Snape which would give anyone chills. "Look Snivellus, no one asked you to listen in on this conversation. So why don't you take that oily hooked nose of yours and go play with your chemistry sets."

Sirius couldn't help but grin at Andy's choice of words. Snape on the other hand did not look too happy. For some reason, Sirius didn't like the look in Snape's eye as he glared at Andy and James.

"Someone has to foil your little plans," said Snape smoothly.

"And you sure do love being that little git right?" commented Sirius as he stood up to glare down at Severus.

"As a matter of fact I do," he replied smoothly before turning his attention back to James. "Mark my words, Potter. One of these days you're going to wish you'd never even heard my name."

With that, Severus turned on his heels and stormed away from them and out of the Great Hall.

"Too late. I'm already there," said James aloud before sitting back down.

"Do you think he really over heard what we said?" asked Peter.

"Doubt it," said Andy as she grabbed a hold of her bag that she put on the floor. "Knowing that little weasel, he was probably just blowing smoke. But who really knows. Listen guys, I have to be heading off. See you later."

With that she walked out of the Great Hall but not before she messed with James's hair and gave Remus a quick friendly hug.

"Now I really think you guys shouldn't come tomorrow. I don't want to put you guys at risk," said Remus.

"If you really don't want to, then we won't come," said James giving into his friend's request.

"What!" said a frustrated Sirius.

"Come on Padfoot, it's too dangerous right now. We'll do it next month, right before finals," said James as he took a drink from his glass.

"I guess you're right," said a dejected Sirius as he glanced over at the doors in which Andy had just walked out of. James on the other hand had a feeling that someone was looking at him. When he tuned his head to look down the table he saw a flash of red hair whip around. He couldn't help but grin at the thought.

* * *

Andy walked quickly from the Great Hall toward the staircase to get to the library. She wanted to get a head start on her part of the final project for McGonagall's class. As she took a short cut down what she thought was an empty hallway, she suddenly came face to face once again with Severus. 

"Off to save yet another helpless friend?" chimed Severus as he raised his eyebrows to her suggestively. Andy merely rolled her eyes before side stepping him and continuing on her way.

"What is with you today? Did you wake up and decided to be a bigger prat today than usual?" she asked offhandedly as she walked past him. She got about four steps away before he grabbed a hold of her arm and spun her around.

"No, not really," he said as he looked down at her. Granted he was only a few inches taller than her, but he seemed to give off an illusion that he was taller.

Andy looked at her arm that he was currently holding then up at his face before she pulled free of his grip. "You do realize that stalking is illegal right?"

"Why do you hang out with them?" he asked with a chuckle. Ignoring her comment completely.

"Excuse me?" said a bewildered Andy. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You never really got along with all those _friends_ of your's before," he said with a weird smirk. "You're so much better than they are."

"Okay. What are you playing at, Snivellus?" she said, calculating him.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you haven't thought about it before? You're too good of a witch to be associated with those people," he said as he took a step toward her. Andy took a couple of steps back as she continued to stare at him.

"Those people? Since when did you start addressing me as if I were a pure blood like the rest of your lot?" said Andy cautiously.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Miranda," said Snape icky sweet. Andy started at him for a moment.

"What did you call me?"said Andy a little harshly.

"I don't know what you mean?" he said with a grin.

"No, you called me 'Miranda'. Nobody calls me that save the professors and those stuck up, prissy little pure bloods that think they are so much better than everyone else because they have a lot of...money." Once she had said those words, she knew exactly why he was acting this way.

"Ah shit," she said to herself. "You know, don't you? You know about my family."

Severus looked up at the ceiling as if he were pondering her words. "Perhaps."

"Wow...and it only took you a year to figure it out. What did mummy and daddy find out and told you to play nice?"said Andy wanting nothing more than to wipe the floor with this jerk before her.

"Actually it took me less than a year. And no my parents didn't inform me," said Severus darkly.

"Well...I'm impressed," said Andy sarcastically. "Now if you don't mind, I'm tired of this game."

"Why now?" asked Severus as he once again grabbed a hold of her arm and spun her back around.

"I'd really wouldn't do that if I were you,"growled Andy as she balled her right hand up into a fist ready to let it fly.

"What's going on here?" said a voice coming from behind them. It was Sirius who they hadn't heard come up. "Sparky?"

Andy saw the look of confusion on his face when he saw what type of state they were in. In a flash she saw the confusion turn into almost pure rage. She knew that he would be digging out his wand soon which would lead into a type of trouble she didn't want.

"Nothing," growled Andy as she ripped her arm once again away from Snape. She gave him a threatening look before taking a few steps away. "We're finished here."

With that Andy quickly left the scene, but not before Sirius got a look at her face and saw the far off disturbed look in her eyes.

"My, my," said Snape a little coyly as soon as Andy was gone. Suddenly out of no where he felt a suddenly bolt to the head, and realized that Sirius had physically thrown him up against the stone wall in which his face was currently squished against.

"Don't go there," threatened Sirius as his grip on Snape's arm tightened for a bit before he let go of him.

Severus spun around quickly to look at his attacker as he rubbed his now sore jaw. "What's with you Black? Afraid I might get between you and your little crush on 'Sparky'?"

Sirius tried to hide his feelings with a look of confusion, and it would have worked, had Severus not seen the surprised and shocked look in his eyes.

"Oh come on now, you didn't actually think that no one noticed how you constantly stare and drool over her. Although I don't know why. Anyone could do better than that brash tomboy, even you," he said as he brushed Sirius's hand off him.

"She's my friend, and I don't drool over her. And besides I don't have to explain anything, least of all you," barked Sirius.

"Right, keep telling your self that Black. Maybe then when your precious Andy finds out about your little infatuation for her you'll be more convincing for her. That is if you survive her temper," said Snape mockingly.

"I'd stay away from her, because liable to bite your head off and not think twice about it," said Sirius as he saw Snape began to walk away.

"Just like you and your little gang?" asked Severus from over his shoulder. By the time he turned around, Sirius was now towering in front of him.

"Stay away from them if you know what's good for you," warned Sirius.

"Now have I ever really taken your advice? No Gryffindor can order me around, even if he is a Black," sneered Severus.

"Is that suppose to scare me or something," said an unamused Sirius.

Severus merely shrugged his shoulders in response. Sirius glared down at Severus so frustrated with him. He began to storm away when he heard Severus's oily voice disturb the silence in the hallway. "Perhaps you should be more afraid of when I bust your little fun bubble."

Sirius had had enough of this little game as an impish grin came across his face. "If you want to talk about being afraid, then perhaps you should be taking you own advice. I'd hate to see what horrors you'd fine near the Willow tomorrow night. I doubt you'll even survive."

With that Sirius left a slightly confused but highly curious Snape in the middle of the hallway. Severus's mind began to wheel with ideas and thoughts of what Black was talking about...and how could he put an end to the Marauders' reign of terror on the school.

* * *

For the rest of the day and next day as well Severus kept an even closer eye on the Marauders. He saw that Remus was looking even sicker as usual and that the rest of them seemedmoresilentthan normal. He eyed both James and Sirius with the utmost disgust. Every now and then his mind would wander off and picture what the world would be like if those two were destroyed. An evil smirk would occasionally form on his face as he reveled in this thought. 

As night approached, Severus continued his vigilance over the boys until after dinner. He had to give up on his stakeout since it was his night to patrol the corridors and make sure no students were acting up. As the hours passed by slowly, Severus continued to ponder what in the world Black was talking about the day before. He knew better than to follow Sirius's suggestion. Knowing Black he figured the Marauders were just trying to throw him off with a trick. So what were they really up too?

Severus continued to contemplate what were his adversaries really up too as he walked down the fourth floor corridor and looked out the window to look at the now almost dark sky. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes as he savored in the slight hint of summer in the night air. When he opened his eyes he saw someone run across the grounds clutching his stomach. He took him a moment to realize that the boy was none other than Remus Lupin, heading for the direction of the Whopping Willow tree.

"Nice try, but I'm not falling for it," said Severus to himself. But for some reason Severus couldn't help the nagging feeling in his gut that was telling him to follow Lupin. After a few minutes of inner debate, curiosity prevailed and Severus silently slipped into one of the secret passages that lead outside to find out what was going on exactly at the dangerous willow tree.

* * *

As the evening hours got later and later, Lily was found sitting in one of the very comfy chairs near the fireplace in the common reading up on some of her studies, getting ready for finals that were just a few weeks away. It was nearly nine o'clock and she was the only one there, which was a slightly odd. But none the less, Lily welcomed the silence as she continued to read up on some of the newest defenses they learn in Defenses Against the Dark Arts class. Well that was until a loud bang disrupted her concentration. A moment later she saw a very frustrated looking Andy storm in to the common room and gave out a slightly loud growl as she flung her bag at the couch. 

Andy noticed her friend sitting in the far chair as she grabbed a hold of the back of the chair closest to her and took a few deep breaths.

"Ugh...can this week get any worse," said a tired and frustrated Andy. Lily couldn't help but giggle at her friend's actions.

"What is it now, Andy?" she said merrily as she put her book off to the side.

"What hasn't it been," said Andy as she took a seat on the couch closest to Lily. "First the laces on my favorite shoes broke. Then I find out that the essay I turned in for McGonagall's class wasn't as good as I thought it was. So needless to say I'm a bit pissed about that. Plus we have Quidditch championship next week against Ravenclaw and just ...ugh...nothing else has gone right for me."

Lily looked at her friend with sympathetic eyes. She knew it was a stressful time for many people, so she chose be a little cheeky.

"Aww...poor Andy," said Lily in a little baby like voice. Andy watched as her friend began to pout and blink her eyes rapidly. Normally Andy would give her custom glare but she just couldn't seem to do it right then and there. Instead she gave Lily what her best friend set out to accomplish, she began laugh uncontrollably.

"Shut up," laughed Andy as she through a pillow at her friend to get her to stop acting like that. "Okay it isn't that bad. But still, I just wish this year was over with."

"I know what you mean," sighed Lily. At that moment an idea popped into her head. "Hey tell you what, since exams are coming up..."

"Don't remind me," whined Andy.

Lily gave a slight glare before she continued. "Why don't we have a girls weekend? Hmm? We can do a slumber party on Friday and Saturday we can go to Hogsmeade. What do you think?"

"That actually sounds like a good idea, Evans," commented Andy.

"Of course it does," said a voice coming near the fire place. Andy and Lily looked over toward the door and saw James leaning near the fire place. He had a slight grin on his face as he walked toward the girls. "Whatever idea comes from Evans is bound to be a good idea."

Andy and Lily couldn't help but laugh merrily at his comment. "Jay, quit being a kiss up."

James merely gave them a bemused look while shrugging his shoulders. "Sorry, I have a bad habit of that."

"Wow, I'm amazed. A boy of sixteen and he is already able to admit his faults," Lily flirted.

James responded in the same kind of tone slightly enjoying this little game of theirs. "Is that a trait you admire, Ms. Evans."

Andy looked at her two friends and couldn't help the bright smile that forced its way to the surface as she watched their actions. They looked too cute together.

"Well, if it is I wouldn't tell you," said Lily a little cheekily. James slightly frowned at her words not sure if she was still playing or was being serious now.

"Hey don't be too harsh on the boy," said Andy defensively, playing along with Lily's game.

Lily gave a dejected sigh that caused part of her hair to fly up. "If I must."

Andy let out a slight giggle before she got the attention of James who was now standing before her. "Relax," she said in a low voice. "She's just playing."

James gave her a quizzical look before turning his attention back to Lily who was now trying very hard to fight off the fit of giggles that wanted to escape. James slightly rolled his eyes at his own stupidity for falling into her trap.

"Would you care to join us in our little chat," asked Lily brightly after she had her laugh.

"Thank you, but no," he refused politely. "I don't want to interfere with your girl time and what hair tips you two just discovered."

"Is that what you think we do," said Andy with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes because that's what we always talk about," said Lily in a slight dramatic tone. "Hair. Clothes."

"Accessories," added Andy.

"Make-up," stated Lily.

"And of course our favorite topic of all time," said Andy in a dramatic tone.

"Boys!" the two of them said in unison.

"Okay. Okay. I get the picture," laughed James as he took a seat on the edge of the coffee table so that he was now between Lily and Andy. "So what were you two lasses talking about then."

"Curious now?" asked Lily with a raised eyebrow.

"Perhaps," replied James as he looked up to the ceiling as if pondering the thought. Both Lily and Andy looked at each other before they broke into a fit of giggles.

"We were just talking about how terrible Andy's life has been lately,"said Lily once she calmed down a bit. Andy told James the same speech she gave to Lily a few minutes ago.

"Yeah, but luckily McGonagall is letting me fix up the essay," said Andy once she was done.

"Your life is sounding like mine, Star," said James with a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, well welcome to the club," replied Andy with a hint of sarcasm. "What's your excuse?"

James let out a sigh before rambling off a list. "Class, mates, pranks, and Snivellus."

"What happened with you and Severus," asked Lily in a concern tone.

"Oh, don't even get me started on that prat," said Andy under her breath.

"He's been following us, the guys and I," answered James.

"Why?" inquired Lily not seeing where he was getting at.

"He's just looking for trouble," replied James. Lily raised an eyebrow at his reply. She wasn't entirely sure he was telling the truth.

"Yeah, and I almost put him in the hospital wing the other day," said Andy backing up James's story.

"Why?" said Lily sharply as she turned her attention to her best friend.

"What did he do?" said James slowly getting angry at the thought of Severus trying to do something to someone he saw as a sister.

"After I left you guys the other day in the Great Hall, Severus followed me out int the hall,"started Andy.

"What did he want?" inquired Lily and James.

"Oh, he just wanted to rub in the little information that he discovered on me," replied Andy as she began to pick at the couch.

"What information?" asked James.

Andy stopped what she was doing and looked straight at both of them. "The fact that I'm a bloody heiress and that I now probably have more money than anyone in this entire school."

"Great," sighed James as he rolled his eyes.

"So what?" replied Lily not seeing what the big problem was.

"If he knows," started James. "Then every Slytherin and his family knows. So they're now going to want to convert her into a cold hearted prick they are now. Or worst, try to 'persuade' her into marrying one of their idiot sons so they can get a hold of her money."

"Persuade?" questioned Lily.

"He means threaten. Those...piranhas would do anything to get a hold of money, considering most these 'purebloods' no longer have any because of their 'bad habits'," said Andy.

"I see," replied Lily with a nod.

"Exactly, but luckily I had a rescuer," said Andy.

"Who?" inquired James.

"Your best mate. Blackie," replied Andy.

"Really?" said James with a raised eyebrow. At that moment the portrait door began to open and in walked in a student.

"Yup,"answered Andy. When she heard someone come in she looked up and saw that it was none other than the boy they were talking about. "Ah, speaking of the 'great savior'".

"What did I do now?" said Sirius with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Stopped Snivellus from harassing Andy, apparently," said James with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah. That. It was nothing,"said Sirius sadly as he continued to have a far off look across his face.

"Oh my hero. Ever so humble," joked Andy. She watched Sirius as he walked slowly behind the couch lost in his thoughts.

"Well that's Sirius for you, always the quiet one," laughed James. He too noticed his friends strange behavior.

"Oh yeah. That will be the day," laughed Lily. She also began to watch the boy's odd actions.

"Hey," said Andy as she grabbed a hold of his wrist. "Is something wrong?"

"No," replied Sirius as he pulled away from Andy. " Why would you ask?"

"Because you are too quiet,"said James as he got up and went over to his friend. There have only been a hand full of times James has seen Sirius like this. Normally his best friend has an air around him, as if he doesn't have a care in the world. But as he stood before his friend now, he saw the same lost expression he saw about a year ago when Sirius came to live in at the Potter household.

"Sirius what did you do?" said James with a sigh.

"It's nothing," said Sirius as he looked at the floor.

"Come on mate," stated James with a friendly tone.

"Ah, I just got into a bit of a row with Snivellus after Andy left," said Sirius with a sigh. "I said something to him that I really shouldn't have."

"What did you call him a prat that favors boys or something like that?" laughed Andy. It was that remark that caused James to be engulfed with laughter as Lily fought to keep her giggles to herself. Sirius on the other hand cracked a small smile before going back to his depressed look.

"Not really," he said a little awkwardly.

"Well what did you tell him?"laughed James.

"I told him if he didn't want to get the scare of his life, then he shouldn't go out to the willow tonight,"said Sirius with some hesitation. Once those words left his lips, the entire room went silent. James, Lily, and Andy stared at him as if he had told a very bad joke.

"But isn't tonight a full moon?"said Lily. Sure enough out the far window, the four of them saw the monthly full moon begin to rise in the sky.

"You didn't," said a slightly scared James.

"Oh come on Prongs. It's not like the fool will actually listen to me," said Sirius, more or less trying to convince himself then James and the rest of them

"Well there's one way to find out," replied James. With that he went over to his bag and pulled out a piece of parchment. He unfolded it and placed the tip of his wand to the paper.

"What is that?" asked a highly curious Lily.

"Later Lily," said Andy as she joined James in searching the map. It took her a moment, but she found where the willow tree was marked. Sure enough she saw a little figure marked '_Remus Lupin'_. But it was the figure marked not too far behind that caused the color in her face to drain away.

"James...look," said Andy in a low voice as she pointed to the map.

James looked in the direction of her figure and saw the figure marked _'Severus Snape'_ not too far behind the one marked _'Remus Lupin'_. "Ah bugger me."

"He didn't did he?" said Sirius suddenly as he came over to the table. The moment he saw that he's fear was now a reality, Sirius felt sick to his stomach. "Ah shit."

"Goddamn it Sirius!" screamed James as he slammed his hands against the table. "You put our best friend's life in jeopardy."

Sirius continued to stare at the map with the same shocked and bewildered look on his face. It was until James stood up abruptly with his wand out and called for his broom.

"James, where are you going?" asked Lily as James headed for the portrait.

"To stop him," replied James as he glared at Sirius. Once he had his broom in hand, James flew out of the common room to try and stop Severus. Lily started to go after him, but was stopped by Andy's hand.

"Lily don't," said Andy as she took a hold of Lily's arm. Lily watched as the portrait door softly closed, feeling slightly helpless.

Andy shook her head trying to absorb what had just happened and what was going on. As looked over toward the fireplace, she saw Sirius stand up and look at her.

"Sparky..."he started.

"Don't say another word to me," growled Andy as she tried her best to contain her temper.

"Sirius what were you thinking?"said Lily suddenly as she walked over toward Sirius.

"He wasn't!" barked Andy as she tried to get her thoughts together.

Lily chose to ignore Andy's comment and continue to question Sirius. "How could you do that to Remus?"

"I...I don't know,"stuttered Sirius. Lily could see that the boy was in shock. But in the blink of an eye Sirius's lost look disappeared only to be replaced by one of determination. Before Lily knew it, Sirius had past her and was making his way toward the portrait. That is until Andy stepped in his way with her wand pulled out at him.

"Don't even think about it!"threatened Andy. Sirius raised an eyebrow at her.

"What are you going to do? Hex me?" he replied. Andy silently muttered a curse which stop past Sirius's ear and hit a vase causing it to explode.

"That was a warning. I don't want to hurt you, but if I must, I will knock your bloody lights out until the middle of next week," warned Andy. Sirius slightly twitched at the thought of what she could do.

"As will I,"added Lily. She too pulled out her wand and pointed it at Sirius. Seeing that he was out numbered, Sirius bowed out.

"Fair enough,"he said.

"Come on Lil, before it's too late,"said Andy as she put her wand away. She knew that Sirius wouldn't try to leave the common room now. Not when he saw her grab a hold of the map and pocketed it.

Andy and Lily left the common room quickly, leaving Sirius by himself in the common room. He walks over to the window and looks out at the bright full moon hanging in the black of night.

"Merlin what have I done," he says in a whisper as silent tears begin to fall from his face.

* * *

James flew through the castle trying to avoid various students who were heading back to their houses for the evening. Once he was outside, he willed his broom to fly faster toward the far off willow tree. He arrived at the tree in the matter of a few moments to find that Snape was no where in sight. Seeing the branch near the tree, James grabbed a hold of it in order to hit the knot that would disable the tree. He glanced back at the castle before taking a deep breath and going through the opening with his broom and wand in hand.

* * *

"Andy where are we going? Shouldn't we be going the other way toward James?"asked Lily. The two girls were now running through the dark halls of the school feeling as though they were already too late. 

"Dumbledore. We're going to Dumbledore's office," huffed Andy as she came to a stop trying to catch her breath for a moment.

"What?" said a confused Lily.

"Lil, if James doesn't get there in time there could be two deaths instead of on," stated Andy as she looked at her friend. " I know I would usually say no, but this is major. Even by my standards."

Lily stood there for a few moments taking in her words. "Then what are we waiting for?"

With that, the two of them ran in the direction of the Headmaster's office. Within a matter of moments, which seemed like an eternity for them, they arrived at the entrance.

"Chocolate Frog!"screamed the both of them.

"How did you?"asked Andy as she started at her friend.

"Prefect remember," replied Lily as she hopped onto the rotating staircase.

"Right,"said Andy as she too jumped onto the staircase. Once they had arrived at Dumbledore's door, both of them began to pound on it.

"Professor!"screamed Andy.

"Enter" said a voice within. The two of them bolted through the door, to find Professor Dumbledore sitting behind his desk and Professor McGonagall standing near the fireplace.

"My my," chuckled Dumbledore as he greeted the girls. "To what do I owe this late visit ladies?"

"Someone's in danger!"gasped Lily.

"Danger? Of what?" asked Professor McGonagall as she stared at the both girls state.

"Werewolf!" said Andy as she tried to catch her breath.

"What are you talking about?"asked Dumbledore as he rose from his seat.

"Someone's gone to the Whomping Willow and is about to run into Remus's other side,"replied Andy as looked directly at Dumbledore.

"How do you know about Lupin?" asked McGonagall in a low voice.

"Who?" said Dumbledore with a hint of urgency.

"Severus Snape," answered Andy. Lily and Andy heard McGonagall give a small gasp as she held her hand over her heart.

"There's more,"added Lily. "James went after Snape. He's on his way there now."

Dumbledore smiled lightly and nodded at the girls. "Thank you."

He then turned his attention to McGonagall. "Minerva, I want you go alert Professor Slughorn and our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Also tell Pomfrey that we may need two beds made up."

With that Dumbledore headed toward door and down the staircase. McGonagall glared slightly at the girls before she too headed out of the office. "You two back to your dormitories."

Andy and Lily followed McGonagall down the stairs and watched as she hurried down the corridor toward Slughorn's office.

"We should go," said Lily after a few moments. "It's out of our hands now."

"Like hell it is," said Andy. She then walked down the corridor toward one of the tapestries. Lily watched as she lifted the heavy piece of art work and tapped the wall three times to open the secret passageway.

"Come on," waved Andy as she lite her wand to guide them down the dark way.

* * *

Snape walked down the dark tunnel slowly. He wondered how long this tunnel had been in existence as he tried to avoid getting hit in the head by roots from above. He had been walking for a good amount of time and figured that he was nearing the end of the tunnel. After a few moments, he began to hear unnatural sounds. It sounded as if someone was in a great amount of pain...as if they were being tortured. 

"Lumos," he whispered. The sight before him was of absolute horror. Standing before him, was Remus in the middle of his monthly transformation. His face and mouth were slightly distorted as vicious fangs and unruly hair began to grow everywhere. Severus saw as Remus began to convulse uncontrollably while his clothes began to rip to shreds, revealing dark brown fur covering his body.

"S...S-Severus..."grunted Remus. "G-g-get a-a-awwwwaaaayyyyy!"

Severus couldn't move as he watched what was happening before him. "My God."

James ran as fast as he could down the tunnel and saw that there was some light at the end of the tunnel. Soon he saw the outline figure of Snape, standing in the middle of the tunnel.

"Snape!" shouted James as he continued to run up to his long enemy. By the time he reached him, he saw that Remus was in the final stages of his transformation.

"Snape!" shouted James as he grabbed a hold of Severus and shook him. "Come on man are you mad?"

The next moment literally turned both Severus and James's blood ice cold. "OOOWWWWOOOOO!"

James quickly turned around to find a full fledge werewolf before them.

"Ah shit," muttered James. He watched as the werewolf began to calculate his prey and snarl at the two of them.

"Sorry for this mate," said James as his grip on his wand tightened. As the werewolf began to lunge forward, James fired off a curse that sent the werewolf flying down the rest of the tunnel a few feet.

James then pulled Severus down the tunnel a few feet until they reached the broom he had dropped. "GET ON!" yelled James to Severus.

Snape startled back into reality, jumped on the back of James's broom and saw soon speeding off back down the tunnel with a now very angry werewolf right behind them.

* * *

"Andy what are we doing out here?" asked Lily once the two of them were outside of the castle. 

"Shh," whispered Andy as she pulled out a cloak from her pocket. "Quick get under."

"When did you get this?" asked Lily as she got under the Invisibility cloak.

"I called for it as soon as we got out of Dumbledore's office," replied Andy. The two of them silently made their way toward the willow tree. Once they had arrived at a near by oak tree, Andy pulled off the cloak as she looked at the moon and then at the willow.

"Remind me again," started Lily. "Why are we out here?"

"Incase Remus decides to become violent," muttered Andy.

Lily looked at her with horror as her friend continued to stare at the tree. "Shouldn't we let the professor's deal with that?"

"What, Slughorn, Russell, and McGonagall?"asked Andy as she looked over her shoulder at her friend. "Those three won't get here in time if Dumbledore can't stop Lupin."

Sure enough, Andy and Lily saw Professor Dumbledore in the distance along with Hagrid walking toward the willow. At the same time, they saw James fly out of the tunnel with Snape and land a few feet away.

"Looks like James got him," said Andy with a sigh of relief. At the same time she said it, Andy felt Lily go ridged next to her.

"Lily?" asked Andy as she turned toward her friend who was now white as a ghost. "Lily what is it?"

"That," she whispered as she pointed to something behind Andy. Andy slowly turned around to find Remus in his werewolf form crawling out of the tunnel.

"Oh! Yeah. That might be a problem," said Andy she found herself frozen in place.

The two girls watched as James began to fire off a number of curses to keep the werewolf at bay.

"James," whispered Lily as she watched him battle against his friend's other form.

"Oh...that's got to hurt," commented Andy as the two of them watched as Severus tried to fire off a curse, but instead got hit by the willow knocking him out of a moment.

Suddenly the werewolf was hit by a bright beam of light that seem to come out of nowhere. Lily and Andy then noticed that Dumbledore was now standing next to James with Hagrid coming up from behind.

"Where did Dumbledore come from?" questioned Lily, who knew that Dumbledore wasn't there a second ago.

"Who knows," shrugged Andy as she watched Dumbledore tell James and the now conscious Severus to head back to the castle with Hagrid.

A second later both girls saw that the werewolf was beginning to get back on his feet and charge at the small group.

"Uh-oh," said Andy she watched from their hiding space. Both of them watched to see if Dumbledore would turn around and keep him at bay, but they didn't.

"Andy what are you doing?" said Lily as her friend jumped out of their hiding spot.

"Baking a cake, what does it look like I'm doing," said Andy. She fired off a hex right as Remus was about to charge the group.

A second later, another curse was cast, causing a small twister to cut through the grounds and chase after the werewolf. Andy stared at Lily who continued to have her wand pointed in the direction of her spell.

"Whoa, Lily," commented Andy as she gasped at her friend.

"Couldn't have you having all the fun now could I," chuckled Lily. Andy couldn't help but chuckle too, until she heard the ear splitting sound of wood cracking.

"Look out!" said Andy as she dove and pushed Lily out of the way of the falling tree branch.

"Why don't we get out of here," said Andy as she tried to catch her breath.

"That would be nice," commented Lily.

With that, the girls quickly got under the invisibility cloak once again and headed back to the castle.

* * *

**A/N**: Well there you go, a new chapter. (And on my birthday no less!) I hope everyone enjoyed reading this. You have no idea how long it took for me to write it. I probably won't update for awhile, because I'm trying to work a little bit ahead on the next installments. So please be patient. Hey I've put almost three years into this story...you think I'm going to give up on it now? Heck no! 

Anyways...I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed. I love you guys!

And now as always...you know what to do...just go ahead and hit that button at the review. You know you want to. Flames, praises, or whatever are welcomed as usual.

Until next time...

**Disclaimer**: It's all J.K. Rowling. I only own this story and the characters I made up.


	37. In too Deep

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: In Too Deep**

"Professor it's their entire fault! They tried to kill me!" stated Severus in anguish.

"Oh lay off the dramatics, Snivellus. It wasn't all of us," retorted James as he sunk lower into his chair that was in front of the headmaster's desk. He, Snape, and Dumbledore had been up in the headmaster's office for what felt like hours retelling the story of what happened earlier this evening.

"Severus…calm down," said the headmaster as he raised a hand slightly to calm everyone done. "Now, would you please tell me what happened tonight? Calmly," said Dumbledore as he sat in his high chair looking at Severus.

Severus ginned wickedly at James before going into detail about what happened.

* * *

"Lily what are we doing here?" asked Andy as she sat on the cold hard floor just outside the secret entrance to the headmaster's office.

"I want to know what's going to happen to them," replied Lily as she paced back in forth in front of the window. She, like Andy, kept replaying the evening's events in her head trying to come to some conclusion as to why it had unfolded the way it did.

"So do I, but can't we at least wait in the common room? It's bloody freezing out here!" retorted Andy as she rubbed her arms. "One thing I hate about this island," she added in a low whisper.

"Oh quit your blabbering," sighed Lily as she quickly conjured up a warming charm for her friend. A small pause of silence fell between the two girls both worried for their friends and what this would now mean for Remus.

"I hate being still," said Andy no longer able to withstand the silence between them.

"Yes I know patience is not one of your virtues. Why don't you go back?" asked Lily as she took a seat across from her best friend.

"And leave you here?" chuckled Andy. "Not a chance. Besides I have a feeling the trouble maker is still up and I don't really want to see him yet."

"Good idea. Also by the time we got back, Black would probably be dead if we left you alone with him."

"That too." nodded Andy as she took a deep breath to try and calm herself down.

"Why would Black do such a thing?" asked Lily unable to keep the question in anymore

"Don't ask me. That boy never thinks before he leaps," growled Andy as her temper began to flare up a bit. "So what do you think is going to happen?"

"I don't know. Dumbledore will probably swear Severus to secrecy. James may get detention or worse. As for Black…if I was Dumbledore, I'd probably expel him," answered Lily honestly.

"Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of," said Andy in a low voice.

* * *

"So…let me fully understand this. All four of the Marauder's planned this attack?" asked Dumbledore. He sat in his chair with his hands pointed at one another, just having the tips of his fingers just barely touching one another as he pondered what Severus had just told him. James had been watching him very closely, trying to see if there was any hint in his actions that would cause him to believe James's story and not Snape's.

"Yes," said Snape coldly.

"No we didn't! We didn't plan anything!" exclaimed James as he jumped up from his chair.

"James, please," said Dumbledore calmly, causing James to reclaim his seat. "Now Severus, all of them planned this and told you to go to the willow?"

"Well…no…not about the telling part. That was done by Black," said Snape a little confused.

"I see. Very well then," replied the headmaster. After a moment of silence, Dumbledore stood up from his chair and began to walk toward the fireplace where the school's Sorting hat took residency for the time being. "James…your actions tonight though reckless, dangerous, and brash may not be over looked by some. However, bravery, selflessness, and valor out weigh all faults."

"Excuse me! He tried to kill me!" exasperated Snape as he shot up from his chair.

"That is not what I was told prior to my arrival at the willow tree nor to this meeting. As it seems, only Mr. Black was involved in this little incident tonight. He realized the mistake that he had committed and enlisted the help of his friends to right this wrong."

"But…But…" stuttered Snape.

"You yourself said Severus that that the only one you communicated with was Sirius. So instead of punishing you James, you will be awarded for your services to the school."

"What?" said a highly confused and shocked James.

"What!?" screamed Severus.

"Is there a problem?" asked Dumbledore with confusion written on his old face.

"A big one! He's going to get off with an award for his behavior?" asked a highly pissed Severus.

"Need I remind you Severus, that if it weren't for James you would not be here now talking to me right now. I believe you owe a great deal of gratitude to James for saving your life," replied Dumbledore with a twinkle in his blue eyes hidden behind his half-moon spectacles.

Severus emitted a low growl while slowly turning toward James. He knew that the headmaster was right and that by wizard's law, he was now indebted to his enemy for all time or until he saved James's life in return.

Snape slowly took a few steps toward James and extended his right hand. James looked at it for a few moments, calculating his enemy's actions, but soon knew better than to think that Snape would try something right in front of the headmaster. He cautiously grabbed a hold of the hand that was offered to him in a quick shake, while Severus quietly mumbled a thank you.

Happy to see that there was a new found temporary truce, Dumbledore made his way towards the door calling for the boys.

"This doesn't make us friends or anything," growled Severus before following the headmaster.

James silently snorted at his comment. "As if I'd ever want to be friends with a pompous slimy prat like yourself."

* * *

"This is getting ridiculous," huffed Andy as she played with a piece of lint she found. "You'd think Dumbledore would give out his executions swiftly."

"Andy," said Lily a little surprised to see who was now standing beside her friend.

"What? It's the truth," replied Andy oblivious to what was going on.

"Normally I would agree with you Ms. Starmenter, but that's not the case here. Sorry to be a disappointment," said a jolly tired voice next to her.

Andy quickly jumped up from her seat on the floor when she realized that Professor Dumbledore was standing next to her.

"Professor! Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"That's all right my dears. I do have something to say to both of you, but considering the late hour; I think it best to wait until tomorrow. I will send word to both of you sometime during the day. In the mean time I think we should all get a goodnight's rest," he said as he bid everyone goodnight and went back up to his office.

With that, James and Severus shared one last loathing stare before Snape heading toward the dungeons while James joined Lily and Andy as they headed toward Gryffindor tower.

"James what happened?" asked Andy once they were a good few feet away from the headmaster's office.

"Nothing much. Just the little fact that now Severus owes me," said James a little tiredly.

"Owes you? For what?" inquired Lily.

"Saving his life," he said simply. Lily and Andy stopped for a moment and stared at each other for a moment shocked at what he had just said.

"Did he…" started Lily. James stopped in his tracks and took a visible sigh before turning to face the two girls.

"Yeah, he saw him," he replied knowing exactly what Lily was getting at. Both girls were shocked as their minds began to real with a number of questions. Suddenly Andy turned on her heals and began to march back down the hallway.

"Andy where are you going?" called Lily after her friend.

"To put the fear of God in him," barked Andy. James quickly ran after her and grabbed a hold of her arm to halt her actions.

"Too late. Dumbledore got to him first. Besides, I don't think he'll blab," he said too her as he glanced back down where the statue that hid the entrance to the headmaster's office was now. "Come on; let's get back to the tower."

The three of them continued their journey back to the common room in silence trying to take in all that happened. Once they had reached the common room, they were met with the sight of Peter sitting on the couch, while Sirius paced back in forth in front of the fire. Lily could see James's expression harden quickly once he saw his best friend.

"How is he?" said Sirius after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Which one? The one you tried to kill with a werewolf? Or the one you tried to kill with a lynch mob?" roared James.

Sirius visibly flinched at his friend's harsh tone but knew he had it coming.

"Prongs, you know I didn't mean to, but if you'd had been there…" he started to say.

"No! No more excuses, Sirius. You knew exactly what you were doing," yelled James.

"Prongs he threatened us! He threatened to expose…" replied Sirius trying to make them see why he did what he did.

"So what! It's Snivellus for crying out loud! Of course he's going to threaten us. That's what he always does! But we deal with it together as a team, and to a certain extreme."

"Well maybe now we won't have to anymore. Maybe he's finally scared enough that he'll leave us be," barked Sirius as he glared at James.

"You arrogant son of bitch!" roared James as he began to take a step toward his friend with his fist balled up. Both Andy and Lily quickly grabbed a hold of James to stop him in his actions.

"James, don't! Stop it!" begged Lily.

James took a few breaths to calm himself down before storming off up to his room. But before he left he quickly whispered something to Peter to which he merely nodded at.

"I'll go check on him," Lily volunteered when she saw that Andy was about to follow him.

"Uh…I think I'll go and…" stuttered Peter before bolting out of the common room and into the rest of the castle leaving just both Sirius and Andy alone in the common room. Both of them knew exactly where Peter was off too and what James had asked him to do. They knew that right now Peter was changing into his rat form and heading off into the Dark Forest to make sure that Remus was okay. Sirius was about to head off and join him when Andy stepped in his path.

"And where the hell do you think you're going?" she said with her arms folded in front of her.

"You know where I'm going," he replied as he tried to sidestep her, which he failed in doing.

"Like hell you are," she said pushing him back into the common room.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I don't care if I have to hex you, trip you, or chain you to a wall. There is no way you are going out there," ordered Andy.

"Sparky, I just want to check…" started Sirius.

"Peter is doing that. Remus is fine, and don't call me Sparky," snapped Andy.

"Andy…"

"Just answer this one question for me. Is there a functioning brain under that mop of yours or has all the gel and mouse products finally sunk in and damaged what little brain cells you have left?" she asked as she began to walk up to him.

"Andy."

"SHUT UP!" yelled Andy with venom. "I don't even want to hear another word coming from your lips. Do you have any idea what you have done? What you could have done?"

Sirius knew he was in for it now; he began to retreat back further into the common room as Andy followed him.

"Sirius you almost killed not one but two people tonight! Can you get that through your thick skull? I mean what were you thinking? Sure Severus is a right git, but he doesn't deserve to be attacked by a werewolf. And not just any wolf…Remus! My Gods, I mean…he's your friend! YOUR FRIEND, SIRIUS! How do you think Remus would have felt in the morning learning that he killed someone? Or when the ministry would come for him and throw him in Azkaban or worse. Why? Why?" pleaded Andy.

"To protect us," he said silently.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just forget it," he said before he bolted out of the common room and into the castle.

"Sirius! Sirius get back here!" yelled Andy as she ran after him, but lost him in the darkness of the castle hallways.

* * *

Lily walked silently toward the door marked six years. She saw that the door was slightly ajar but all was dark inside. She knocked lightly before opening the door more fully. "James are you all right?"

She found him pacing back and forth muttering to himself. Upon hearing her come in and her voice, James stopped abruptly to stare at her.

"Oh yeah, other than the fact that my best mate is an idiot, my other friend almost mauled someone, and my worst enemy now knows about one of our biggest secrets, yeah I'm bloody fantastic!" he roared before returning to his pacing.

Lily gave a small sigh, knowing that it was impossible to talk to him while he was in this state. She walked over towards the nearest bed and sat down. She looked upon the nightstand and learned that his was James's bed judging by the amount of Quidditch magazines and the photo of him and his parents, next a photo of him and the rest of the boys. Lily picked up the photo of the boys and held it in her hands while trying to figure out when this was taken. She figured it must have been either last year or at the beginning of this year judging by the height and hair styles. The four boys looked delightfully happy in the picture as they began to move about. Remus and Peter waved and grinned at Lily while Sirius had one arm wrapped around Remus's shoulders while the other was wrapped around James, but more in a headlock of sorts. The Sirius in the picture let up on the James in the picture while the James wrapped and arm around Sirius shoulders as the two beamed up at Lily.

James had been watching her for a few moments and noticed the picture she was holding. He remembered back when they had taken it right before they left at the end of last year. If he knew back then that the boy he was standing next to in that picture would end up betraying the lot of them, he would have thought the world had gone mad.

"Why would he do it Lily? Why?" he said as he took a hold of the picture.

"I don't really know," said Lily unsure of how to handle this situation.

"I can't believe he would do something like that," he said defiantly. "The Sirius I know would never…"

"Perhaps Severus just pushed him too far," suggested Lily. "You know Sirius is a very passionate young man. He probably just lost control like he always does."

"Probably, but that's no excuse for acting like a moron," said James in a harsh but tired voice.

"No, it isn't. Look James, I know you're angry. That's obvious. But…"

"Don't. Don't you go and defend him," roared James as a new found rage began to build up.

"I'm not. But you didn't see the look on his face when he saw the map," said Lily slightly pleading. "James, he knows he messed up. I think he really is sorry for what he did. I mean this is Sirius we are talking about. He wouldn't harm a fly let alone try to kill someone."

"I know," said a frustrated James. He walked over towards the window and looked out at the dark starry night.

"One time last summer, we were hanging around this old abandon house and I wasn't watching where I was going," said James as he began to take a walk down memory lane. "Anyways an old rotten beam suddenly fell from the ceiling. It would have taken my head off had Sirius not pushed me out of the way."

"Sounds like a true friend," said Lily as she walked over towards him.

"He always said that he would rather die than harm any of his friends," said James as he turned to face Lily. "I guess I should be more supportive, especially now that he's probably going to get kicked out of school."

Lily took a step back at his words. "You don't think Dumbledore would really expel him?"

"No," said James after a few moments. "But then again we've never done anything like this before. It doesn't look good for him."

Lily gave a small sigh. "That's what Andy and I were saying when we were waiting for you."

"Why did you wait for me?" said James suddenly. "Outside of Dumbledore's office I mean. Why didn't you come back and wait in the common room."

"I…wanted…to be there to explain myself," stuttered Lily.

"Explain yourself?" said a confused boy before her.

"To the headmaster for what I did. Well, what Andy and I did," she confessed knowing there was no use trying to lie now.

"What are you talking about? Wait…you were out there?" said James as he replayed the events of what happened out by the willow tree.

"Yes," she said shortly.

"Why?" he asked as he closed the distance between them. Lily could feel her pulse begin to race as she looked up into his face.

"We wanted to make sure nothing bad happened," she said in a soft voice. Lily wasn't sure why she was feeling this way at a time like this. She could almost feel his eyes bare into her and had visions of him taking hold of her and kissing her like he had months ago. That was until her mouth had suddenly grown a mind of its own.

"Well it was mostly Andy who wanted to know," she said quickly as she turned away from James.

"Right. Andy," he said with a hint of dejection in his voice. Lily turned back at James and saw that he was now looking down at the floor and had taken a few steps away from her.

"I should get going. It's getting late," she said feeling a bit awkward in his presence.

"Yeah," replied James trying to sound a bit merrier. He watched as Lily made her way toward the door and then stopped before exiting.

"James," she said as she turned back towards him. "Although I don't really condone the things you do. What you did tonight was very brave…and…I'm proud of you," she said with a smile.

James couldn't help but grin at Lily words. "Thank you."

"I'm glad you're okay. Goodnight," she said quickly as she left him alone.

For the rest of the night, James laid awake in his bed trying to figure out why someone he considered a brother did what he did. But he pondered more over the problem of whether or not their friendship would make it through this latest problem the group now faced.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm back! Did you miss me? Yes okay I know…you haven't updated in six months. YOU LEFT US HANGING FOR SIX MONTHS!!!! For that my deepest and humblest of apologizes. Unfortunately life and computer problems got in the way followed by a very, very, very bad case of writers block. Also school has been a pain and had forced me to stop writing for a bit, but it did pay off as evident to the grades I got this semester. (Yea!!! I passed college physics with a B!)

Anyways…this chapter was originally longer, but I decided to stop it hear for now because I wanted to get this out as fast as possible. So…here it is…Chapter 37. I hope that you like it, and I will try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible.

I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed, and for those who have been patiently waiting to see what happens next.

Now you all know what to do…flames, praises, or whatever are welcomed, so just hit that button at the bottom and leave a review.

On that note, I'm out of here to rest me head since his headache I've had for the last hour or so has finally gotten to me.

Later!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or the characters. They belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I only own this story and the characters I made up.


	38. Stand By Your Side

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Thirty-Eight**: **Stand By Your Side**

The next day, it seemed that everyone in the castle was talking about the sudden change in the Marauder's mood. Whispers of how James kept avoiding Sirius or how he would send him loathing stares spread through the halls, while others talked about how Sirius seemed so withdrawn and silent.

Lily and Andy noticed that Remus had yet to return from his nightly run and figured he was recuperating in the hospital wing. Neither knew how to act around both James and Sirius. It seemed as if the only way to deal with the uncertainty of Sirius's future at Hogwarts was to just simply not talk about it. It wasn't until the end of their Transfiguration class that both girls were finally forced out of their silent world.

"Miss Evans. Miss Starmenter. Would you two please come here?" requested Professor McGonagall.

"Yes Professor?" asked Lily once the two of them had reached her desk.

"Professor Dumbledore wishes to see both of you sometime today. Here are your scheduled times," stated Professor McGonagall as she handed each girl envelops addressed to them.

"He wants to see us separately?" asked Andy with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, Miss Starmenter. Please be on time," replied McGonagall as she said the last part more to Andy than Lily. "You are both dismissed."

The two girls silently left the classroom as calmly as possible. But once they had reached the outside corridor, they both frantically tore open their notes.

"What time do you have to meet him at?" asked Lily as she read her note quickly.

"After Potions. What about you?" replied Andy.

"Right after lunch," answered Lily.

"Lucky. Damn, for a second there I thought I could get out of Slughorn's hour of torture," sighed Andy as she stuffed Dumbledore's note into her bag.

"He's not that bad. Besides, you're doing very well in that class," stated Lily as the two of them began to walk down the corridor.

"Just because I'm doing well doesn't mean I have to like the class," chimed Andy darkly.

"I wonder why he wants to see us separately," said Lily absentmindedly.

"I don't know. Maybe to make sure that our stories are the same?" said Andy.

"Perhaps," replied Lily a little worried.

"But then again who knows why. It's Dumbledore we're talking about here. Everyone always says the man has a few screws loose up there," said Andy as she pointed to her head.

"I guess," chuckled Lily. She glanced down at her watch to notice that she only had about an hour before she had her meeting with the headmaster.

The two of them entered the great hall and met up with the rest of their friends. The lot of them really didn't say much to one another. Felicia and Kelly were busy going over their potions essays that were due next period, while Andy and Lily sat silently picking at their lunch.

"Well, I guess I should be heading off," stated Lily after about a half hour of sitting in silence. She happened to catch a glimpse of James and Peter walking out of the Great Hall, while Sirius was no where to be seen.

"Good luck," croaked Andy, as she poured herself another glass of pumpkin juice.

"Thanks," nodded Lily as she swung her bag over her shoulder and headed off to the headmaster's office.

"Where is she off to," asked Felicia as she rolled up her now finished essay.

"She has a meeting with the headmaster," said Andy as she downed her glass.

"Why does she have a meeting with Dumbledore," inquired Kelly.

"Uh…I'll tell you later," said Andy second guessing her decision to tell her friends what had actually happened the previous night. "Come on gals, we'll be late for Potions."

Andy tried her best to concentrate on her potions assignment, but to no avail. She kept getting lost her own thoughts; even when Kelly would slap her shoulder to bring Andy out of her trance when she was suppose to be stirring their concoction. By the end of the class period, everyone handed in their potions and began the journey back from the dungeons.

"Where were you today Andy?" asked Kelly as she placed their sample upon Professor Slughorn's desk. "You were a million miles away!"

"I'm sorry Kelly. I've just got a lot of things on my mind," she replied as the two girls left the classroom.

"Obviously. Are you sure you're okay?" inquired Kelly.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry I wasn't a good partner today," replied Andy.

"It's alright. I'm sure we got at least an 'E'," said Kelly with a grin.

"You mean you got an 'E'," retorted Andy. "Listen I have to get going. I have a meeting to get to. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Sure. Have fun at the meeting," chimed Kelly with a smile.

"Yeah, right," said Andy half-heartedly as she walked away from her friend and made her way to Professor Dumbledore's office.

Before she knew it she was standing before the great oak door to the headmaster's office gathering her courage to face the professor.

"Well…here goes nothing," said Andy aloud to herself. She raised her hand to knock on the door but never got the chance too.

"Come in Ms. Starmenter," said the professor's voice from the other side of the door.

Andy stared at the door for a moment before she grabbed the handle to enter. _'How does he do that?'_

Once she was inside she was greeted with the now all too familiar silver instruments on the table and the sounds of past Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses snoring away in their paintings. As she walked a little farther into the room, she found Professor Dumbledore, dressed in his dark blue robe with silver stars and moons, heading toward his seat behind his desk. His pet phoenix, sat on his perch looking rather bright and magnificent.

"Hello Professor. You wanted to see me?" said Andy as she stood before the professor's desk.

"Ah Miranda, so good to see you! Please have a seat," said Professor Dumbledore cheerfully as she motioned for her to take a seat in the chair next to her.

As she took her seat, Professor Dumbledore picked up the small candy dish that was on his desk and offered it to Andy. "Lemon drop?"

"Uh…sure. Thank you," said Andy as she timidly took one of the small yellow pieces of candy from the dish.

"How is everything? Classes going well I presume?" he inquired as he popped a lemon drop in his mouth.

"Uh…well yes sir. As well as they can be," she replied.

"I take it Professor McGonagall's class is still not going well for you?"

"Like I said before sir, as well as can be," said Andy as she looked to her lap. A few moments later she heard her professor chuckle at her response.

"Ha ha…you are too much like your grandmother, Miranda," laughed Dumbledore.

"Right," replied Andy under her breath. "So…uh professor, might I ask you a question?"

Dumbledore looked at the young girl before him and sat back in his chair while folding his hands on top of his robes. "You are wondering why I called you here and why I asked you and Ms. Evans to come at different times."

"Yes, sir," nodded Andy as her face turned a slight shade of pink.

"Well, Miranda. I thought it best to talk to you more in private since I suspect there are some truths you would like to keep hidden as well as Ms. Evans," stated Dumbledore as he looked over his half-moon spectacles at Andy.

"Umm…okay," said Andy a little confused as to what he was getting at.

"Might I ask for your account then of what happened last night?" he asked with a hint of tiredness in his voice.

"Of course sir," she said softly. Andy went into detail about what had occurred the previous night, while Dumbledore sat quietly listening to her words. He did nod occasionally encouraging her to finish her thoughts as they formed in her head. Before Andy knew it she had finished her story.

"Is that all?" asked Dumbledore after a few moments of silence.

"Yes sir," she nodded.

"Very well then," replied the headmaster as he got up from his chair and walked over toward his fireplace.

Andy watched him closely, utterly confused by his words. "Is there something wrong Professor? Did Lily say something else?"

"On the contrary, your story and Ms. Evans are the same," Dumbledore said with a smile. Andy let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding in.

"Oh! So is that it?" she asked awkwardly.

"Yes. I believe that is all I need to hear," said the headmaster as he picked up a near by poker and prodded the wood in the fireplace.

With that said, Andy got up from her chair and headed toward the door, but stopped half way there. "Professor," she said as she turned back toward the headmaster. "Might I ask you a question?"

"I believe you just did," said Dumbledore.

Andy stood there a moment before she let out a small giggle causing Dumbledore to laugh as well. From where she was standing she could see his blue eyes sparkle brightly with mirth.

"Yes, Miranda, you can ask me anything."

"I was just wondering," she said calmly, "what is to become of James and Sirius?"

Dumbledore stood there for a moment looking at the young girl before him and saw something that was almost indescribable to many people, but not to him.

"Well as for James, I assumed that you already know what has happened to him," said Dumbledore a little quizzical.

Andy nodded in agreement to his statement. "And Sirius?"

Dumbledore let out a small sigh before he answered. "That I'm afraid I can not tell you."

"I understand," said Andy as she made to leave once more. "Professor…I know I'm probably just wasting my breath but…"

"Yes, Andy?" asked Professor Dumbledore.

Andy took a deep breath before she began her small speech. "Sirius may have a slight violent personality, but…he didn't mean for it to go that far. He may not like Snape, but he would never want anyone hurt like that. Especially at a friend's expense."

"You speak very highly of Sirius," said Dumbledore in a matter of fact tone.

"Yes," croaked Andy.

"Forgive me, Andy, I didn't know that you were now well acquainted with Sirius. One may find this a bit odd considering your past history with him, not to mention the feud that has been between your two families," stated Dumbledore.

"I know," said Andy as she felt something inside of her break slightly. "Blackie and I haven't had the greatest of relationships. But…I don't know…something has changed. It's almost as if we've become...no…we have become friends, or something along those lines. At least I thought it was. I'm sorry. I'm babbling," chuckled Andy as she scratched the back of her head.

"There is nothing to be forgiven," said Dumbledore as he raised his hand to sooth her. "I actually find that talking out loud helps one sort out things better. Especially one's feelings."

"Perhaps," said Andy as she nodded in agreement before noticing the time. "I should get going."

"Ah yes, I wouldn't want for you to be late for your Defense Against the Dark Arts class," said the headmaster as he walked her to the door.

"Right. It was nice talking with you Professor," said Andy brightly.

"A pleasure as always Ms. Starmenter," he replied as he opened the door for her.

"Oh Miranda!" he said, just before Andy jumped on the rotating staircase. "Try not to worry so much about your friends problems. Sometimes it maybe best just to be there for them. Also trying for what is lost in the last place to look. Good-bye!"

Andy watched as the door closed by itself and stared at the dark oak door in confusion. "I'm starting to think that Gran was right. The man has lost too many marbles over the years."

* * *

At the end of Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Andy had noticed that neither James nor Sirius had shown up to class. In fact none of the Marauders had shown up. Finding it slightly odd but not really interested in discovering the answer to this mystery, Andy opted not to head back to the common room with her friends, but instead head off to the library to look up some books for her newly acquired assignment.

After about a half hour or so, she arrived back to the Gryffindorcommon room to find Lily, Peter, and Kelly sitting on the couch looking troubled, James marching back and forth in front of the fireplace muttering something, and a newly recovered Remus sitting in a chair rubbing the back of his neck.

"Okay," said Andy as she dropped her bag and folded her arms in front of her. "What's wrong? You lot look as if your pet has just died or ran away."

Peter was the first to speak. "Sirius is missing."

"What? What are you talking about missing?" said Andy slightly a confused and worried.

"He didn't show up to any of his classes," said Lily.

"And his bed hasn't been slept in at all," added Remus.

"Do you think he left?" inquired Andy.

"Don't know. Probably. He took the map," said Remus worried as well.

"And he's suppose to meet Dumbledore tonight," muttered James as he continued to pace back and forth trying to think of where his best friend could have gone off too.

"Oh great," sighed Andy as she tried to get a grip of the situation and think of where Sirius could have gone.

"I can't take this anymore," said James after a few moments of silence. He grabbed his cloak off the unused chair and pulled out his wand.

"James where are you going?" said Lily as she shot up from her seat.

"Where do you think?" he spat, as he put is wand into his back pocket and walked out of the common room into the seventh floor hallway.

"Potter!" called Lily as she started to head after him.

"Lily, don't" said Andy as she grabbed a hold of Lily arm to stop her best friend.

"I'm not letting him look for Sirius while he's like this," said Lily as she looked into Andy's eyes. With that Lily pulled out of her friend's grip and went after James.

Andy let out a long sigh and rubbed her head until she noticed a piece of parchment on the old beat up coffee table.

"What's that?" she inquired walking over to the parchment.

"It's a letter Sirius sent to James," said Kelly.

"Wormtail and I got one as well," said Remus.

Andy picked up the letter and quickly read over it. "Maybe James is right. Maybe we should be looking for him," she said after a few moments.

"I'll go check the Quidditch field," said Peter. "He likes to go flying when he's had a tough day."

"I'll check some of his normal hide outs," stated Remus as he winced while getting up from the chair.

"Are you sure your up to it?" asked Andy.

"Umm…maybe not," said Remus as he quickly grabbed his head and fell back into his chair. "Still a little woozy."

"That's okay. I'll go check the kitchens and…broom closets," said Andy as she rolled her eyes at the last statement.

"I'll stay here with Remus," offered Kelly. With that Andy and Peter left the common room in search of Sirius.

* * *

"Potter would you slow down," called Lily. She was currently running after James as he trotted down the sun drenched hallway.

"Quit following me Evans," sneered James as he returned to his search for Sirius.

Lily some how managed to catch up to James and jumped in front of him. "And then what are you going to do? Huh, James? What are you going to do when you find Sirius?"

"I'm going to…"started James in anger, but couldn't finish he thought. He reality, he wasn't sure what he was going to do.

"Well?" asked Lily, knowing full well what his answer would be.

"Why are you following me anyway?" inquired James as he gave the girl before him a puzzling look.

"To make sure you don't get into any more trouble. You're lucky Dumbledore over looked your foolishness about going after…you know," mumbled Lily finding it best to refrain from such words as 'werewolf' or 'Remus'. Who knows who could be walking the halls this time of day.

"Nobody asked you to be my keeper, Evans. I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself," said James with a slight hint of venom in his voice.

"Right, and end up in a fight with your best mate for…how many years now?" replied Lily in a matter of fact tone. James didn't respond to her question. Instead he simply walked over toward a nearby window and gazed out at the grounds and setting sun.

"James…I know your angry. Anybody can see that. But is this really worth ruining your friendship with Sirius? Like it or not there is a huge possibility that he won't be a student here much longer," stated Lily trying to get her point through.

"I know! Okay? I know that he's probably not going to be here much longer. That I'm going to have to go through my final year at Hogwarts without my best friend, and…it…it scares me," said James tiredly.

"I know. But how do you think he's feeling now? One would think that he too would need his best friend now more than ever," Lily said with a crooked smile.

James hung is head for a moment, but nodded in agreement before giving her a small smile.

* * *

Andy went to the kitchens but found nothing but house elves, none of which had seen Sirius at all. She looked in all the normal Sirius-like places and found nothing at all.

'_Merlin, where the devil could he be_?' thought Andy as she wandered aimlessly around the castle for an hour. In a last act of desperation, she headed up toward the Astronomy tower, but found it empty.

"Why would I think he would be up here?" she said aloud to herself.

At that moment, one of the school owls came soaring out of the sky toward her before making a graceful landing against the now setting sun.

"What have you got there, buddy?" she asked the owl as it held out it's talon for her to untie the letter attached. She saw that it was addressed to her and tore it open when the owl took off again in search for its supper.

_Dear Miranda,_

_Chances are by now you've probably already heard that I'm gone. Please don't try to find me, nor encourage the rest of the Marauders. It would be best if I disappeared and sentenced myself to my own dungeon, rather than have someone assign one to me._

_I know we have had our differences in the past, but after this past year, I'm glad that we have gotten to know one another. You are one of the few girls I can actually call a friend. You are by far the most outgoing, charismatic, charming, and sweetest girl I've ever met. The only regret that I have between us is not being able to make up for all the pain I caused you for so many years. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me for that._

_You are meant for greatness, Andy. Don't let anyone tell you differently. I hope your life is filled with the same happiness and joy you've shown me. Take care of yourself Sparky._

_Your friend,_

_Sirius_

Andy read the letter over again before leaning against the edge of the tower. _'He's really gone!_' she thought to herself.

"Sirius," she said aloud with a sigh. "No…he can't have left yet. Think! Where could he have gone?" she said as she rubbed her forehead, concentrating on where her friend could have gone. She looked at the letter again before the idea hit her like a ton of bricks. Andy quickly ran down the stairs to the Astronomy classroom with Sirius's words running through her head.

"_It would be best if I disappeared and sentenced myself to my own dungeon, rather than have someone assign one to me."_

* * *

Andy quickly bolted from the tower, down the numerous hallways until she finally arrived at the staircase that lead to the dungeons. She ran down the passageway that led to her potions class, before she took a sharp turn to the left that lead to a number of unused classrooms. Finally she reached the end of the hallway and came upon the old classroom that she had served a detention in once with Sirius.

After stopping for a moment to catch her breath, she saw that the door was slightly ajar. Andy slowly pushed the door open further. Upon looking in on the dark room, she noticed a figure sitting on one of the table desks near the small dingy window allowing very little light into the back of the classroom.

She slowly walked toward him and noticed the map unfolded next to him. She also noticed that it was folded to reveal the location of a room which now had two small figures in it. He didn't say a word to her as he stared off into space. Andy stood there for a moment before she hopped next to him onto the table.

The silence between them was nerve racking. Sirius would make slight grunting noises to try and scare her off. But Andy didn't leave, and was not going to be the first to talk.

"Leave," croaked Sirius.

Andy turned to look at him square in the face and uttered only one word. "No."

Sirius let out a small sigh as he hung is head in frustration. "Please leave."

"Nope," replied Andy as she folded her arms in front of herself and stared at the back wall.

"Gods, why can't you just leave me be!" said a frustrated Sirius as he jumped off the table.

"I don't know. Why do you always have to be a stubborn arse?" spat Andy as she watched him with a raised eyebrow.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but could think of nothing. Instead all he could do was chuckle at her response. Andy soon began to laugh along with him for a moment until they both calmed down.

"Why are you down here, Blackie?" she asked as he retook his spot next to her on the table.

"I won't be for long," was the only response she got.

She gave him a quizzical look before she opened her mouth again. "So you are going to see Dumbledore?"

"Nope. I'm heading off at night fall," he said looking straight into her blue eyes.

"Why?" she asked slightly desperate to know.

Sirius gave her a shrug before answering. "Save Dumbledore his breath in telling me to pack my things and leave," he said while pointing at his trunk on the floor next to the table.

"You don't know that," said Andy helplessly.

"Oh come on Sparky! It's not like he's going to congratulate me on almost killing another student," said Sirius sarcastically.

"Sirius…"

"I almost exposed my best friend to the world!" laughed Sirius. "What kind of a person does that?" he asked while kicking the table next to them. With that he got up from his place and began to let his anger out on furniture. Andy watched as he tantrum caused several tables and chairs to be thrown and flipped from there original spots. It was only a few moments later that Sirius finally broke down. Andy quickly ran over to him as he began to fall and embraced him. He tried to fight her off for only a second until all the pain he was feeling finally consumed him.

"I almost killed my best friend," sobbed Sirius repeatedly.

Andy tried her best to calm him down as she rubbed him back and head. "He's alright. Nobody knows," she said as she got down low enough to see his face. "Nobody knows. Well…except for Snivellus, but he won't be telling anyone. Not unless he wants to deal with Dumbledore," she said with a laugh.

Sirius tried his best to laugh as well, but failed. "I don't want to leave here, Andy," he croaked. "This is my home."

Andy nodded in understanding. "I know. I know," she said as she wrapped her arms around him again. She felt him almost cling to her. Seeing him like this was almost heartbreaking. She knew he had a rough time growing up, and figured he had never really known compassion or care from another person like this before.

"It'll be alright. We'll work it out. All of us," said Andy as she continued to sooth him. "You…Jay…Rem…Pete…Lil…me, we're all in this together."

Sirius lifted his head from her shoulder to look into her eyes which were now on the brink of tears. He lifted up a hand to her cheek to quickly wipe away a fallen tear. "You?"

"What, you think I'm going to let you leave because of this?" sniffed Andy as she looked into pools of grey. "No way! Besides if you did go, then who would help me try to get our two friends together and also get into row with?"

Both of them couldn't help but laugh at her words and the situation they were now in. After a few moments, both of them collected themselves. Sirius was the first to stand and helped Andy off the floor. "Guess I should head up there?" said Sirius noticing that it was now almost completely dark outside.

He began to walk away while Andy finished fixing her skirt and dust off the dirt. He got about a foot away before he turned back toward her. "Andy."

When she looked up she saw that he was holding out his hand for her. Andy couldn't help but grin as she took hold of his hand and walked out of the classroom with him.

* * *

The two of them walked silently through the darken halls of Hogwarts up to the Gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office. Sirius looked at the massive statue as if it were really alive and about to swallow him whole. Andy sensed his nervousness and slightly tugged at his arm to force him to look at her.

"Everything will be okay. You'll see," said Andy softly. Sirius lowered his head to nod in agreement and regain his confidence. Before he knew it, he suddenly felt the pressure of Andy's lips on his cheek in a quick peck. Sirius stared at her in confusion and bewilderment, as if he wasn't sure if it had really happened.

Andy let out a small giggle at the look on his face before answering the question she knew that was forming in his mind. "For luck," she said with a slightly shy smile. Sirius continued to stare at her with his stunned expression which soon melted into a warm smile. A smile she hadn't seen in quite sometime.

"Padfoot!" yelled a voice that sounded a lot like James coming from behind Andy. The two of them turned to see James, Lily, Remus, and Peter running toward them.

"What's the matter, Prongs?" asked Sirius, a little surprised that he was talking to him.

"We thought you had gone," huffed Peter as he tried to catch his breath.

"Well…I was about to…but…Sparky here stopped me," said Sirius a little timidly as he glanced over at Andy.

"Oh," said James a little confused as he looked at his best mate, to Andy, and back again. Picking up, that James might be thinking that something odd was going on, Andy decided to speak up.

"Yup, that's me," said Andy with hint of annoyance in her voice, "the resident bounty hunter." Remus, Lily, and Peter couldn't help but chuckle at her remark, before returning to a more serious demeanor.

"Sirius…" started Remus, but was stopped when Sirius raised a hand in protest.

"Mates, it's okay. I'm ready to take whatever consequence I'm given," said Sirius trying to sound like his normal self. "Remus, I'm sorry I used you like that."

Remus shook his head at his friend's words. "Padfoot it doesn't matter anymore. Personally I wish I could remember the look on Snivellus's face when he realized what really going on," laughed Remus lightly.

Sirius too laughed a little before speaking again. "No hard feelings then?"

"Of course not," said Remus as he offered his hand to Sirius, which soon turned into an embrace. Once they had broken apart, Sirius turned to James.

"Sirius, I'm…" stared James but was stopped just like Remus.

"Prongs…don't," said Sirius simply as he looked at his best friend with remorse.

James knew what Sirius was talking about and soon both knew that they had silently forgiven each other.

"Best mates?" asked Sirius.

"Best mates," confirmed James as he embraced his best friend who had practically become his brother.

"Well…I guess I should be off. Take care mates. Evans, I know it would have never worked out between us, but could you do me the smallest of favors if I am booted out?"

"Umm…sure?" said Lily slightly afraid of his request.

"Quit torturing my best mate here," he said with a sly grin. James gave him a quick elbow in the ribs for his comment.

"We'll see," chuckled Lily.

"I'll take what I can get," shrugged Sirius. With that he began to head toward the gargoyle. "Princess," he said to Andy while mockingly bowing to her.

"Wanker," she quick spat before giving him a small smile before saying the password and heading up to the headmaster's office.

* * *

Dumbledore sat at his desk finishing up his letter, when he happened to look at the now slightly starry sky. Quickly scribbled his name and began to stuff it into the already addressed envelope.

"Enter," he said out loud suddenly while taking the school owl that was on the same perch as Fawkes and attached his letter to it.

The door slowly opened and in walked Sirius Black, looking a bit amazed, but mostly nervous about meeting with the Dumbledore.

"Hello Sirius!" said Dumbledore brightly.

"Hello sir. You wanted to see me?" said Sirius a little timidly.

"Yes I did," nodded Dumbledore as he closed the window that the owl had now just flown out of. "You had quite the evening last night."

"Yes sir," stated Sirius bracing himself for Dumbledore's words.

"Not many students are able to scare a person like you did, I must say," chuckled Dumbledore as he retook his seat behind his desk.

Sirius couldn't take the wait any longer and decided he needed to speak up quickly before Dumbledore gave him the boot. "Professor Dumbledore, may I say something before we begin?"

"Of course," said Dumbledore, as if he were expecting this.

Sirius took a deep breath before he began his speech. "Sir…I know I messed up. Even farther by my standards. I know there are consequences for my actions, and I am ready to accept them. But…if you could find it in your power…I would like to finish out my education here at Hogwarts. This is my home, sir. It's the only place that I've ever felt that I was truly free to be myself. Please don't take that away from me."

Sirius watched as Dumbledore peered over his half-moon spectacles and looked straight at him. It was almost as if he could feel him swimming around in his head, which was a slightly frightening experience.

"Sirius…in all your years here, have I ever expelled a student for breaking school rules?" asked Dumbledore.

"No sir," he replied after a moment of thought.

"Then what makes you think that I would start now?" inquired Dumbledore. Sirius shot a puzzling look at the headmaster as a sudden feeling of relief came over him. 'Is he for real?'

"Excuse me?" questioned Sirius.

"Unless you want me to expel you from Hogwarts, then…"started Dumbledore as he made to grab a piece of paper out of his desk.

"NO!!!" shouted Sirius as he lunged toward the headmaster's desk. "No…that won't be necessary."

"I thought not. No, Sirius I will not be expelling you from Hogwarts at any time. However that doesn't mean you are off the hook as some people put it," said the headmaster with a slight chuckle.

"Of course, sir," nodded Sirius as he took the empty seat in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"But we'll get to that in time. No, Sirius the reason why I had asked for you to come here tonight is to inform you of some rather sad news."

"Oh," said Sirius a bit confused.

"I'm sorry to inform you that your Uncle Alphard has passed away," said Dumbledore rather sadly.

"When?" said a slightly stunned Sirius.

"This morning I'm afraid. I've already informed the rest of the staff, and you are excused the rest of the week to attend the funeral," stated Dumbledore as he watched the boy before him.

"Thank you, but I don't think I'll be going. I don't really have a place to go," said Sirius dreading the thought of having to see his parents and the rest of the Black family.

"I've already sent word to the Potters and they are more than happy to take you in, and attend the service with you. It is in every family's nature to detest one another, but that doesn't mean you are the only one. Sometimes it is best to have a new family with your old," said Dumbledore as he leaned back into his chair and folded his hands over his long silver beard.

"Yes, sir," said Sirius happy now that he wouldn't have to face his family alone. '_At least Mr. and Mrs. Potter will be there and maybe Andromeda.'_

"The house elves have already brought up your trunk from the dungeon and have sent it to the Potter's, who are waiting for your arrival by portkey," stated Dumbledore as he got up from his seat and ushered Sirius toward the fire place.

"Alright, but what about my friends?" said Sirius a bit worried that they would think he really did get the boot.

"I yes, will inform them as soon as possible. Oh that reminds me, this is for you," replied Dumbledore as he handed over a letter to Sirius.

Sirius took the letter and curiously inspected the note with his name written on it. "What is this?"

"You're punishment. Now take hold of this and have a safe journey. Again, my condolences to you and your family," said Dumbledore as he handed Sirius an old baseball hat with and Old English 'D' on it.

Sirius was about to say 'thank you' but was soon felt the familiar pull behind his navel and was whisked away into a blur of colors to the James's house.

* * *

**A/N:** Yay, I'm back!!!! I know, I know, "What took you so long to update?" Well to sum it up, school, work, and my backpack containing the notebook I write my story in getting stolen. GRRR…STUIPID BACKPACK STEALING JERK!!!! So…since I left school for the summer I have been trying to re-write the lost two and half chapter I had been working on while up at school. I hope to have more chapters up by the time I have to leave for school again. (I'm actually aiming to finish this story by the time the final book comes out, but we'll see.) Anyways I hope you all enjoy this nice long chapter and I want to thank everyone for being so patient and understanding. The next chapter will start up at the beginning of their seventh year where all the really interesting stuff will begin to happen. (Will James and Lily finally get together (well duh!) Will Sirius and Andy finally get over their stubbornness and realize their true feelings for one another? And what about the uprising of Lord Voldemort?)

As always flames, praises, or whatever are welcomed, so just click that little button at the bottom and send a review! (It would be nice to see them again in my mailbox.)

Until next time…

**Disclaimer:** How many times do I have to tell you! I don't own Harry Potter or the characters. I only own this story idea and the characters I made up. The rest belongs to J.K. Rowling.


	39. Weird World

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: Weird World**

With the end of the year rolling by, the students busied themselves with their homework and studying for exams. As for the sixth year Gryffindors, they stayed unusually quiet. The marauders mostly kept to themselves after what had happened in the tunnel. Sirius was giving detention until the end of the year, but really didn't think anything of it considering the other bit of news he received at his uncle's will reading. Apparently dear Uncle Alphard had left a substantial amount of gold to Sirius for him to find a place of his own during holidays from school and to live off of for a while. Sirius could still remember the look on his mother's face when the lawyer read that part of the will. For a moment he thought her head was going to explode and new that as soon as she got home, she'd probably blast him off the family tree.

Once school was over with the Potters and Dumbledore helped the young man find a small flat in muggle London that would work for him. Of course Mrs. Potter insisted that Sirius stop by the house every Sunday to spend the day with them.

As for his little plan with Andy, the two of them decided it was best to let the idea go for now and to see how their two friends worked out their feelings for each other, but agreed to step in again when the time was right.

* * *

As September first came around, the air began to take a slight turn toward that of the fall season. Lily and Andy sat in the back of the Evans car gazing out at the sights of London as they sped by. 

"How are you two girls doing back there?" asked Mr. Evans as he pulled onto Gray's Inn Road.

"We're fine, dad," said Lily with a small smile. Her mother had turned around to look at the two girls and found that Andy was still looking out the window with a far off look on her face.

"Andy? Andy?" called Mrs. Evans.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. I'm fine," said Andy a bit embarrassed for not responding sooner.

"Are you alright dear?" asked Mrs. Evans with motherly concern.

"I'm alright. My mind just wandered off is all," replied Andy a bit cheerfully, hoping that this would satisfy Mrs. Evans.

"So are you two excited about your final year at Hogwarts?" asked Mr. Evans looking for a change in subject as he waited for the light to change.

"Yes, we are," said Andy with a smile on her face.

"This year is going to be great," said Lily with a bit of sarcasm in her voice that only Andy and Mrs. Evans had picked up on.

"Lily, you're still not upset about not getting the Head Girl letter are you?" asked Mrs. Evans.

Lily squirmed a bit in her seat as she glanced out the window to see the clock tower of King's Cross Station come into view as they turned onto Euston Road. "A little."

"Don't be," said Andy as she rolled her eyes a bit at her friend. "It's not the end of the world, Lil. This year is going to be a year to remember."

Lily couldn't help but laugh at her friend enthusiasm. As the lot of them pulled to the station, Lily and Andy jumped out of the car first and ran off to find a couple of trolleys while Mr. and Mrs. Evans began to unload the girl's trunks.

Once they had their trunks, school bags, and animals (Lily's pet kitten Sparkles and Andy's owl Ariel), the two girls bid Lily's parents good-bye with hugs and kisses before they made their way to platforms nine and ten.

"Last time we'll be doing this," commented Lily a bit sad.

"Thank Merlin! I hate trying to be sneaky with everyone around," said Andy in a low voice to which Lily laughed at.

The two girls walked up to the barrier seeing that a couple of other students were heading through to Platform 9 ¾. After a third year had made her way through the barrier, Andy ran toward the barrier followed closely by Lily before halting suddenly once they had landed on the platform. The two friends marveled at the bright red locomotive before them as they usually did each year. After a few moments the girls headed over to the train to begin loading up there stuff.

"Urgh, geez Lily! How many books do you have in here? Your whole library?" grunted Andy as she helped Lily lift her trunk off the trolley and on to the platform.

Lily let out a great grunt as she pushed her trunk up onto the train. "No. Only half," smirked Lily.

"Ha-ha," replied Andy dryly as she dragged a couple of Lily's bags to the porter that was now taking students things and putting them in storage.

"Oi! Lily! Andy!" shouted a voice through the billowing fog. Lily turned around as Andy looked up to see Kelly coming up toward them with her own trolley.

"Kelly!" squealed Lily as she gave her friend a hug.

"Hey Kel," exclaimed Andy as she jumped off the train to give her friend a hug. "How was your summer?"

"Pretty good," she commented as she modeled off her tan and new clothes. "Yours?"

"Not bad," nodded Lily as she noticed a few fourth years running around on the platform. "Unfortunately we had to deal with Petunia's boyfriend Vernon," she added while rolling her eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry," grunted Kelly as she pushed her trunk toward Andy who had jumped back on to the train to give the porter another trunk.

"Oh it wasn't that bad," commented Andy as she gave Kelly's trunk a good tug onto the train. "I rather liked Vernon."

"That's because you used him as a human guinea pig for your new spells and powders," remarked Lily with a laugh.

Andy gave a mere shrug at her friend's words. "So? He was an excellent test subject. Besides I erased his memory after each test trial."

"True," nodded Lily, knowing she couldn't argue with that.

"So you stayed at Lily's the whole summer?" inquired Kelly as she handed Andy her owl cage. "You didn't patch things up with your dad after the fight?"

Lily slightly slapped Kelly's shoulder for her remark. Kelly glared at her friend, stunned at her actions before noticing Lily shaking her head as to say _'Don't talk about it_.' This of course did not go unnoticed by Andy, who now couldn't help but laugh at her two friends. Since she arrived after Lily had gotten back from her family trip to Spain, Andy really didn't talk much about what had happened that fateful night in July when she left her father's house after their huge fight.

"No," chuckled Andy. "Not really. We did talk on the phone a few times but nothing major."

"I'm sorry, Star," said Kelly a little awkwardly.

"Don't be. It's not your fault. You weren't the one telling me to basically stop being a witch," said Andy as if it were nothing. She turned to drag Kelly's trunk over to the porter while Kelly quickly pulled Lily a bit closer so they could talk privately.

"Lily," she started but was cut off.

"She's fine Kelly. She's just…being Andy!" laughed Lily a bit.

"Oi! Karen! Felicia! Over here!" shouted Andy, who had now reappeared.

Sure enough as soon as Kelly and Lily turned around their other two friends Karen and Felicia were walking toward them with their own trunks.

All of the girls said their usual hellos to each other accompanied by a warm friendly hug and began to load up their stuff onto the train.

_(Meanwhile a few feet away…)_

"Well our last time going through that barrier," said Peter a bit sadly as he looked at the solid stone wall he had just walked through.

"What do you mean Wormtail?" asked James. "Don't tell me you expected to stay at Hogwarts forever?"

Peter began to turn a slight shade of pink as Remus and Sirius now walked through the barrier with their things. "Well…no," stuttered Peter, "I mean..."

"I know," laughed James as he lightly punched Peter in the arm. "I'm just messing with you." With that said James walked over to where Sirius was now standing admiring the train and all the students trying to put their things aboard.

"Our last year," sighed James as he to watched a couple of first years saying good-bye to their parents.

"Yup," commented Sirius.

"Kind of sad don't you think?" added James as Remus and Peter came up along side them. "No more pulling pranks on the Slytherins."

"The roar of the Quidditch field," commented Sirius.

"Or McGonagall screaming at the two of you to wake up during her lectures," said Remus with a smirk.

James and Sirius glanced over at their friend as he wore his smug look. "Well, some things won't be missed," chuckled James. With that said the four boys began to walk down the platform to find a place to start loading their things.

"Come on Kelly. Lift on three," grunted Andy as her and Felicia took a hold of one end of Kelly's trunk.

"Why can't we just use magic?" whined Kelly as she tried to lift her end of the trunk.

"Oh come on, its tradition!" said Felicia with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"That's right," commented Andy. "Plus it builds character."

"Yeah, and back problems that will last a life time," said Kelly under her breath so only Lily heard. Lily couldn't help but chuckle, while Karen bent down pick up the last of her bags to hand over to the porter.

"Ready?" asked Andy as she prepared herself.

"Yeah," groaned Kelly. "Three!" The lot of them then were finally able to heave the heavy trunk up onto the train and almost took out Felicia and Andy in the process.

"How many more do we have to load?" asked Felicia as she brushed her dark brown hair out of her eyes.

"Two," sighed Andy as she pushed the trunk farther into the train. "Lily's and mine."

"Thank Merlin," said Felicia as she looked up at the sky.

The girls couldn't help but laugh at their friend's remark. "I'll go get mine. You gals can start on Lily's," said Andy as she jumped off the train and went over to get her trunk.

"Wonderful," sighed Felicia as she took a hold of one end of Lily's trunk while Kelly took over Andy's stop and helped her grab a hold of the handle.

Lily and Karen took the other end and were not trying to get it onto the train. "This is definitely something I won't be missing," strained Karen as the pushed the trunk half way up onto the train.

"And what would that be, Karen?" said a voice from behind the two girls. "Surely not a charming dear friend like me?"

Karen gasped and let go of the trunk upon hearing Remus's voice. She spun around in place and saw the sandy blond haired boy before her beaming is warm smile.

"Remus!" she squealed as she flung her arms around his neck and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Oh, I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, love," chuckled Remus as she clung to him. "Hello, everyone," he added once Karen had let go of his neck.

"Hello," chimed the three girls as they saw the rest of the Marauders walk up to them. Felicia quickly pulled the rest of Lily's trunk on to the train and dragged it out of sight when she saw Sirius bring up the rear.

Peter was the first arrive and nodded hello to the girls, while James walked straight up to Lily. "Hello, Evans," he said with a smile.

"Hello, Potter," replied Lily, slightly afraid of meeting his hazel eyes. The two of them stood there awkwardly for a moment until Sirius made his presence known.

"Well, if it isn't the pretties girls in all of Hogwarts," said Sirius smoothly as he flashed his million gallon smile.

Lily couldn't help but laugh at his gesture. "Hello to you too, Black," said Lily. At that moment Felicia had reappeared from inside the train and glared at Sirius.

"Watch it there mate," whispered Remus once he noticed Felicia had returned. Sirius gave him a quizzical look before noticing his ex-girlfriend standing in front of him.

"Hello Felicia," said Sirius trying to sound cheerful.

"Black," sneered Felicia as she walked past him to retrieve her forgotten bag and then proceeded to walk back to the train.

Sirius watched her walk away and shook his head slightly. "Still mad I see."

"Well, you did kind of break her heart," commented Peter without really thinking.

Sirius raised an eyebrow to his friend's words. "Shut up, Wormtail," said Sirius as he messed up his friend's hair.

James turned around on the platform searching the crowd for the fifth member of the little girl group. "Where's Andy?"

"Oh, she went to get her trunk over there," said Lily motioning over to where a group of seventh year Hufflepuffs stood.

"Oh, I see," replied James. It was then that he noticed Lily trying to lift her last bag up onto the train. "Here let me help you with that."

"No, it's okay," smiled Lily as she struggled to lift up her bag. Suddenly she felt a hand on top of her own and saw it belonged to James, who was now grinning down at her.

"I insist," he said warmly as he picked up the bag almost effortlessly while walking side by side with her as they headed onto the train.

"Bloody stupid trunk!" growled Andy in a low voice as she tried to drag her trunk over toward the train but to no avail.

"Why did I have to pack all those potion bottles? Come on you bloody piece of shhaaaaaa!" screamed Andy as the handle slipped from her grasp causing her to fall backwards. Luckily for her, a pair of hands managed her grab a hold of her shoulders before she fell flat on her behind.

"Ow!" she groaned at the sudden firm grasp of her shoulders. When she realized that someone had grabbed a hold of her, she began to stumble back onto her feet.

"Whoa are you alright there?" said the voice from behind her.

"Yes, I'm fine. Sorry about that," stammered Andy as she got back up on her feet and came face to face with her rescuer with a sudden shock. "Sirius!"

"Hello Andy," said Sirius trying his best to look into her eyes but thought better of it. Instead he took in her slightly baggy bellbottom jeans and pink tank top underneath a baggy white button shirt that looked slightly familiar.

"Hi," squeaked Andy as she took in the young man before her. He was wearing a pair of slightly dirty jeans and a baggy black t-shirt which for some reason she couldn't help take her eyes off of.

The two of them stood there in awkward silence for a moment as more students began to hurry onto the train. It was Sirius who finally gathered all his Gryffindor courage to speak first. "How have you been?"

"Oh, I've been alright. You?" she asked with a nervous chuckle.

"Okay," replied Sirius to which he even thought sounded lame. Closing his eyes for a moment he continued on. "Listen about…"

"ALL ABOARD!!!" shouted the conductor as he walked down the platform. Sirius silently cursed and thanked the conductor for his impeccable timing.

"Better get a move on," said Andy with a smile as she began to take hold of her trunk again.

"Here let me help you with that, Sparky," he said with a little chuckle as he walked to the other end of the trunk and took hold of it with ease.

"Always have to be a show off, don't you Blackie?" she said with a smirk as she too pulled on the other end.

"Ha. Ha. Ha," said Sirius dryly as the two of them headed to where their friends stood.

* * *

The Hogwarts Express pulled speedily through the countryside toward Hogwarts, glistening in the sun. The students on board busied themselves with games, pranks, and talks of the summer holiday. As for three of the Marauders, they were content on talking about what the year would bring. 

"I can't believe it's our final year," exclaimed Peter as he marveled at James while he played with the snitch he stole from school.

"Oh quit your belly aching," chuckled Sirius as he lounged across the two benches with his arms folded. "You sound like on of those daft Ravenclaw girls we heard when we got on the train.

"I wouldn't talk if I were you Sirius," chimed James as he grabbed the snitch effortlessly. "I recall hearing you on the way to the station how you'd miss being in the castle."

"Hey you know Hogwarts is the only real place I consider home. Other than your place of course," he nodded to James.

"I know, Padfoot. Just lay off Wormtail here," said James with a hit of authority in his voice.

Sirius gave a long sigh before glaring out the window again. "If I must. When is Moony getting here? Shouldn't that daft prefect meeting be over with already?"

"Geez Blackie, is that all you ever do? Whine and complain like a mule," said the familiar voice of Andy. Sure enough Andy stood by in the door way to the compartment with Remus right behind her. Sirius, caught slightly off guard, slipped off the bench and landed flat on his behind with his legs still propped up on the other bench.

"Smooth there, Padfoot," chuckled Remus as he took the empty seat next to Peter.

"James if you still want to have that team meeting I noticed everyone else is in a compartment one car over," laughed Andy as she watched Sirius's not so graceful fall.

"Yeah, sure. Come on Sirius," said James happily as he got up and followed Andy out the door. Sirius muttered something under his breath as he brushed off some dust from his jeans and followed the two friends out of the compartment.

* * *

"…so I think we should do really well this year, considering our record last year," grinned James as he remembered holding the Quidditch Cup over his head after they defeated Ravenclaw. 

The rest of the team all beamed up at him as they too remember their glorious victory. Lindsay Price, the new fourth year seeker, couldn't help but giggle at remembering how Sirius and Kendrew lifted her up onto their shoulders after she caught the snitch in their final game. James smiled at her and knew that he chose the right person to be Seeker when he grew tired of the position and took over the third chaser position.

"Well I guess that does it for now. I'll talk to McGonagall about seeing if we could get onto the field by the end of the week," said James as he ended the meeting.

As he, Sirius, Andy, and Robin walked out of the compartment the four of them ran into Lily as she was walking by. "Hey Lil," said Andy as she waved good-bye to Robin.

"Hey Andy, how was the meeting?" said Lily as she nodded hello to the two boys.

"It wasn't that bad," smirked Andy. "That captain of ours gave this rather dull speech."

"Dull?" exasperated James, causing Andy and Lily to laugh at his reaction.

"Where are you off to," inquired Andy as she turned her attention back to Lily.

"I'm off to see about getting something from the trolley. I couldn't find my money before when she stopped by," replied Lily as she held up her money bag.

"Do you want some company," asked James quickly. "I…I'm kind of feeling hungry myself," he finished weakly.

"Umm…sure, I guess," said Lily a little cautiously. "I'll see you later then? Don't forget we have to be on duty in about fifteen minutes."

"See you then," nodded Andy as she watched Lily and James walk down the tight hallway. She smiled to herself thinking that this whole idea of them together might actually work out. As she turned around she suddenly came face to face with Sirius who was staring straight at her.

"Can we talk?" asked Sirius suddenly after a lengthy spell of silence.

"About what?" inquired Andy with a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she tried to walk past Sirius. She managed to get about a foot past him before he grabbed a hold of her arm.

"You know what," said Sirius as he stared into her eyes slightly pleading.

Andy could feel her defenses that she had been building up all summer begin to fall as she looked into the pair of grey pools before her. "Nope, not interested," said Andy a moment and turned away from him.

"Sparky, come on," growled Sirius as he walked after her.

"What part of 'no' do you not understand?" barked Andy as she turned around to face him, catching him off guard again.

"I'm serious, Andy," said Sirius as he felt his temper begin to rise up.

"So am I," she spat back in the same tone. After she took a moment to calm down and remember where exactly they were, she noticed a small compartment that usually held a few blankets and other supplies. "Look get in here," she growled as she shoved Sirius into to the compartment.

"Pushy aren't we?" said Sirius with an eyebrow cocked.

"Shut up," snapped Andy. "Now what do you want?"

Sirius gave a heavy sigh before he began to speak again. "I just want to know if you are okay?"

"I'm fine Blackie!" growled Andy. "I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself."

"Are you having anymore nightmares," he inquired. He watched as her expression change from being pissed off to one of hearing something scandalous.

"That's none of your business," said Andy in a low voice. She didn't know whether to leave right then and there or punch him in the face for asking her that question.

"Andy…" he started but was cut off.

"Look, I'm sorry I bothered you before," said Andy as she tried her best to control her temper.

"I'm not mad. I just want to make sure that you are alright," he said, trying to look into her eyes. He placed his hand on her shoulder in hopes to get her full attention.

"I told you I'm fine!" she growled as she shrugged his hand off. "Merlin! Why does everyone keep asking me that question? I'm fine. Nothing is wrong with me!"

"Okay," Sirius replied. He held up his hands in defense to show that he didn't mean any harm. Andy took a few breaths to try and calm her nerves, but for some reason she couldn't control her mouth.

"Besides if there was something wrong you don't need to worry about me," she snapped with venom.

Sirius looked at her with bewilderment. He tried his best to hide the pain that was caused by her words. "But I do."

"Don't be. You're not my keeper, or my father, or my brother, or my boyfriend," she laughed wickedly as if this whole conversation was a joke.

"But I am your friend," he replied quickly.

"Are we? Because I thought we weren't friends? Not to the public anyway," she snapped.

"Ouch."

Andy gave a long sigh and rubbed her temples as she could feel the on coming effects of a headache begin. "Blackie, we never agreed to become friends. We only agreed to help each other get our best friends together. But this," she said while motioning between the two of them. "Whatever this is between us…we didn't sign up for this."

"But it has happened Sparky. We can't go back to the way things use to be," he said almost desperately trying to make her understand.

Andy merely glared at him as if he were a puzzle that she just could comprehend. "Why not? Why can't we go back to hating each other, and making the other's life a living hell?"

Sirius let out a frustrating growl as he turned his back to her. He was trying his best not too loose his temper, but with her acting like she currently was, he was quickly losing his patience. He slowly turned back to look at her.

"What if I don't want to?" he said in a low voice staring deeply into her eyes.

"And why is that, Blackie?" she said staring right back at him with a bit of attitude.

* * *

"So…how have you been?" asked Lily as she and James walked along the train. 

"Pretty good," shrugged James. "Trying to stay out of trouble."

Lily raised an eyebrow at his last remark to which did not go unnoticed by him. "What? It's the truth."

"Sure it is," said Lily with a bit of a smirk.

"You're having a go with me aren't you, Evans?" said James with a lopsided grin.

"Maybe," commented Lily acting childlike with her hands folded behind her back.

James couldn't help but laugh at her actions. In the years they've known each other, he never really saw her act like this around him. She usually reserved this type of teasing with her close friends. "Well aren't you the little flirt."

"I guess all those years of hanging around Kelly, Andy and Felicia have finally rubbed off," said Lily with a hint of laughter in her tone. In the back of her mind she was wondering where the old witch with the trolley cart had gone off too since they were now in the first car of the train. But really, she didn't care. She was actually enjoying herself with James.

"Right. So, how long were you in Spain for?" asked James bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Only for a few days after we ran into each other," said Lily as she began to fiddle with her hair.

"Oh?" he asked staring at her with curiosity as to why she was suddenly uncomfortable around him.

"What about you?" she asked quickly.

"Same. My mum got a little tired of dealing with the relatives," commented James as he placed his hands in his pockets. During the whole time during their walk, he kept suppressing the urge to run his fingers through her long auburn hair, even when he noticed a piece of lint that clung to her dark mane.

Lily nodded in understanding before she spoke again. "I'm sorry that your grandfather died this past summer."

"Eh, it's okay. But thank you though," he said as he shuffled along side her. "I really didn't know him that well. But he had a good long life. Not many wizards today live to see 152."

She stopped in her tracks for a moment upon hearing how old his grandfather really was. She knew wizards lived longer than muggles, but she had never really heard of one living that long without the aid of the elixir of life. "He was…152?"

"Yup, so what else have you done since Spain?" he asked looking for a change in subject.

"Nothing really. Andy got into an argument with her father, so she spent the summer with us once we got back," she answered. But the moment the words had left her mouth she mentally kicked herself for sounding slightly stupid. "Which of course you know, since she went to visit you."

"Yeah, that was an eventful day," snorted James as he remembered the past events.

Lily raised an eyebrow at the tone of his choice in words. "How so?"

"It doesn't matter. It's nothing big," said James half-heartedly. "We didn't get into a fight if that's what you're thinking. But she and Sirius did."

"Big surprise there," she said with a hint of laughter in her tone.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" said a deep voice from behind them. Both of the quickly turned around to see that Severus Snape had just come out of a nearby compartment.

"Oh great," said James under his breath as he rolled his eyes at the unwelcome guest.

"What do you want now, Snape?" asked Lily with some annoyance.

"Oh, nothing," said Severus with a bit of odium in his tone. "I just hadn't gotten my latest issue of 'Who's dating whom at Hogwarts'. I really must check up on that."

"We're not dating," stated Lily. Both boys could see the anger flare up in her eyes.

"Sure," replied Snape with a hint of venom that didn't go unnoticed by Lily. Severus merely sneered at the girl before addressing James. "Honestly Potter, you could have done better than this."

James couldn't help the hatred for his long time enemy conjure up like a massive tempest. "You little piece of…" he growled as he pulled out his wand.

_**BANG,**_ was all James heard before he was thrown off his stance and landed on the floor next to a body. Instinctively he knew it was Lily and placed a protective arm around her waist as he felt that the train had stopped. As James regained his composure, he watched as Lily began to sit up straight still holding her wand. He also couldn't help but notice the faintest tread of steam emitting from the tip of her wand.

It was then that he looked up and noticed what had become of Severus Snape. Whatever spell she had cast had now caused an unconscious Snape to be plastered upside down against the door that led to where the driver was. But what was more amazing was the fact that several windows were now either blown out or had large cracks in the glass.

James looked back at Lily who was currently staring at Snape while trying to catch her breath. "Lily?!"

"I was never really fond of him anyway," said Lily in a low voice. At that moment a low groan emitted from Severus causing Lily to gasp surprisingly. A few seconds later a great thud was heard as Severus had suddenly become detached from the wall. James and Lily both watched as Severus struggled to get up as he glared at the two of them.

"Why…y-you…"groaned Snape as he fought to regain his footing.

He made to lunge at both of them, but never got the chance to. James had managed to get his wand out in time and used it hang Snape upside down like he had done a few years prior.

"What's going on there?" shouted the train's engineer.

"Ah crap, RUN!" shouted James as he grabbed a hold of Lily's hand to pull her up and to run along with him.

* * *

**A/N**: I'm back!!!! Sorry for the long wait. Life got in the way again. (Stupid school keeping me from working yet again!!!) But hey at least I got the credits I needed. I originally had this chapter run a little longer, but seeing as it's about fifteen pages longs I thought it best to stop here for now and but the rest of it in the next chapter. I don't even remember the last time I updated (if it was before or after Deathly Hallows) but if was before, I don't plan on really changing anything major with the story, just a few small details that I originally had thought of but didn't explore because I wasn't sure what Ms. Rowling had planed. (Does that make any sense?) 

Anyways…I'll try to update again soon. Hopefully sometime before I go back to school.

Thank you to all who have sent reviews and especially for those who have kept with the story for so long. I know it's tough and frustrating, but believe me people I am trying to get it out as fast as possible.

As always flames, praises, or whatever just hit that little button at the bottom that says review!

Until next time…

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything, except this story and the characters I made up. Everything else I borrowed from J.K. Rowling.


	40. Precious Illusions

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Forty: Precious Illusions**

Andy merely glared at him as if he were a puzzle that she just could comprehend. "Why not? Why can't we go back to hating each other, and making the other's life a living hell?"

Sirius let out a frustrating growl as he turned his back to her. He was trying his best not too loose his temper, but with her acting like she currently was, he quickly losing his patience. He slowly turned back to look at her.

"What if I don't want to?" he said in a low voice staring deeply into her eyes.

"And why is that, Blackie?" she said staring right back at him with a bit of attitude.

Andy watched as he drew closer to her if it was possible at all since he was only a few inches away from her. She could feel the heat he was emitting enwrap her in a blinding haze. Almost as if she was in a dream. She watched in slow motion as Sirius began to tilt his head and move it closer to her own. She involuntarily closed her eyes and felt the floor leave her feet, literally.

At that moment the train suddenly halted to a stop with a loud bang causing numerous bags to fall in almost every compartment. Andy and Sirius fell to the ground, along with everyone else, with Sirius somehow ending up on top of her.

"OW!! What the devil was that?" groaned Andy as she rubbed her head a bit trying to regain her bearings. She tried to get up but couldn't under the weight of the boy now on top of her.

"I don't know," groaned Sirius he too began to get up. "Are you alright?" he asked as he held himself up by his hands. Andy shot him a slightly annoyed look at the question.

"Sorry," he said quickly realizing what he had said.

"I'm fine. Are you alright," she inquired.

"Nothing broken," he replied. _'Just a bit of my pride.'_

Andy glared at him as she watched his concern face turn to one of pure smugness. "Would you please…get off me?" she said in a low tone trying to keep the mixture of emotions in check. Anger, embarrassment, shyness, desire…

"Sure," he said with a smug smile. He reluctantly got up from his slightly comfortable position and helped her up as well. Andy dusted off some of the dirt from her jeans before she managed to get around Sirius and grabbed a hold of the door knob.

"Miranda," said a soft voice from behind that held a hint of desperation. She felt him grab a hold of her wrist to keep her with him.

Andy turned to face Sirius once more. The sight of her before him nearly torn his very soul in half. "Please let me go," she asked in a low voice. "Tristan is waiting for me."

The mention of her boyfriend's name was enough to snap Sirius out of his slight trace and grow slightly cold. He let go of her wrist as if she were made of fire. "Of course," he said simply with a hint of malice. "Wouldn't want to keep your boyfriend waiting."

Andy stared wide eyed at him for a moment. She was use to seeing his darker side as she was victim to his terrorizing for years, but she'd never known him to change his demeanor so quickly. It was almost freighting to see him act like a mad man.

"Goodbye Sirius," she said quickly before bolting from their hiding place and ran down the narrow path of the train car.

* * *

James looked back at Lily who was currently staring at Snape while trying to catch her breath. "Lily?!"

"I was never really fond of him anyway," said Lily in a low voice. At that moment a low groan emitted from Severus causing Lily to gasp surprisingly. A few seconds later a great thud was heard as Severus had suddenly become detached from the wall. James and Lily both watched as Severus struggled to get up as he glared at the two of them.

"Why…y-you…"groaned Snape as he fought to regain his footing.

He made to lunge at both of them, but never got the chance to. James had managed to get his wand out in time and used it hang Snape upside down like he had done a few years prior.

"What's going on there?" shouted the train's engineer.

"Ah crap, RUN!" shouted James as he grabbed a hold of Lily's hand to pull her up and to run along with him.

Both of them ran down the narrow pathway toward the end of the train to where their friends were. When they reached the last car, they saw Felicia stick her head out a compartment and look up and down the hallway.

"Lily! Are you alright?" said Felicia as she came out to greet her friend and raised an eyebrow to James. Lily nodded her reply as she tried to catch her breath.

"What in the name of Helga Hufflepuff is going on?" said a voice behind James causing him to jump a bit. Andy raised an eye brow at her friend but decided not to make a joke of his actions. "Are you lot okay?"

"We're all fine in here," said Kelly from the doorway of the girl's seats.

"Where were you?" inquired Felicia to Andy.

"I was in the loo. Luckily I finished before the train stopped," commented Andy as she glanced at Lily who now couldn't seem to stop laughing. A few moments later, James joined her in laughing at what had happened to both of them.

"Okay…what's so funny?" asked Andy a little scared to find out.

"I…tell you later," laughed Lily as she fought to regain her breath once more.

"Umm…okay," said Felicia a bit awkwardly. At that moment she looked up to see both Remus and Sirius coming toward their little group. She gave a small snort before diving back into her seat leaving the small group to their new guests.

Andy and James turned to see what caused Felicia to act so oddly, and knew it was time to end their little chat.

"I think its best that we go back to our seats," said James more to Lily than to the others present.

"Huh?" said Kelly as she looked at James as if he were speaking another language.

"What are you talking about mate? We just got here," said Remus.

"Now" was all James said, as he walked past Andy. "I'll talk to you later."

"Alright," said Andy and Lily at the same time. Andy spun her head around and raised her eye brows at her best friend's remark. Remus gave Sirius a quizzical look before shrugging his shoulders and followed in James's wake. Sirius stood there for a moment shaking his head before following suit.

"Lil," said Andy as the two of them began to head back to rejoin there group. "Since when did you and Jay become such good buddies?"

"We're not," replied Lily automatically. "I can't stand him. I mean it's Potter."

"Riiiiggghhhtt," commented Andy as she followed her friend back to their seats.

* * *

"So you and Evans huh?" inquired Sirius as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at his best mate. Remus chuckled lightly before turning back to his copy of the Daily Prophet, while Peter watched Sirius and James with bated breath. James knew exactly what Sirius was talking about with his tone. He knew it was a mistake telling Sirius about what had happened over summer holiday with Lily. Of course the other two in the compartment knew nothing of this, but James had a feeling Remus had picked up on a few things.

"No. No, it's nothing like that," said James a bit forcefully. "That ship has long since sailed away."

"Oh come off it, mate," said Remus as he folded up his paper. He knew that there was no use in trying to read the paper when a playful game of teasing was about to start. "We know you are crazy for the girl. Always have been, and always will be."

"Hardly," commented James as he folded his arms and sunk deeper into his seat.

"Oh, so you haven't been drooling over a certain red-haired girl for how long now? Two years? Going on three?" asked Sirius smugly as he stretched his legs so that they were propped up on the bench across from him.

James sighed deeply before standing up and jumping over Sirius's legs and head for the door. "Alright!" he said turned back to face his friends. "I'll admit it! I admit I did find her attractive, but that's all changed. I'm over her!"

All three of them looked at one another for a moment before they busted out laughing at their friend's dramatic declaration.

"Yeah right, Prongs," laughed Peter.

"I mean it," said James in a matter of fact tone that silenced all three of them quickly. Peter stared up at James with his mouth opened, while Remus looked upon him as if he had just started speaking a different language that he was now trying to translate in his head. Sirius on the other hand just studied his best mate that he considered more of a brother and wondered what he was getting at.

"Yeah," continued James as soon as he knew he had their attention. "I mean it. I'm over her. Lily Elizabeth Evans holds no spell over me anymore."

"Are you serious, James?" inquired Remus.

"So you mean to tell me, that if Lily walked right up to you and told you that she was crazy for you, you would?" asked Sirius calmly as he stood up and motioned to his friend.

"I'd tell her that she's about a year too late, and laugh in her face," said James matter-of-fact-ly.

"Potter!" gasped Remus and Peter in shock.

"It's the truth. I'm tired of wasting my time over a stuck-up, goodie-two shoe, wannabe McGonagall, who wouldn't know a good time if it jumped up and bit her on the arse," ranted James. Unknown to him was that the door directly behind him was opening at the same time he was talking.

"James," said Sirius trying to get his attention but to no avail.

"She's boring," continued James not listening to his friend. "and I need…" he started as he watched Sirius begin to cringe while Remus just sat in his seat and shook his head and Peter timidly pointed toward the door.

"…someone who is more…" he continued as he turned around and was met with the two people who he now wished never had come in. "exciting."

Standing directly behind him, James was met with Lily's bright shinning emerald eyes, which he loved so much, staring back at him with pain. He watched as her face went from shock to that of absolute loathing before she stormed away, leaving only Andy where she once stood looking aghast.

"Y…you…you unimaginable prick!" growled Andy with as much disgust as she could muster up without stepping right up and punching his lights out. Before she made good on the thoughts she was having, Andy stormed away and after her hurt friend leaving a horror struck James thinking _'Dear God what have I done?!'_

At the same time, all Sirius could do was shake his head at what he just witnessed and watch a years worth of hard work being flushed down the toilet. And all the while he was thinking to himself…

* * *

"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!!" growled Felicia as she paced up and down the compartment.

"Oh calm down, Felicia," said Karen as she tried to digest what Andy had just told them.

"Calm down? Did you hear what that wanker said about Lil?" shouted the dark haired Gryffindor.

"Yes, we know Felicia!" said Kelly as she rolled her eyes, trying to keep herself from slapping her friend upside the head.

"I'm going to rip his bloody throat out," mumbled Felicia as she went back to thinking about how she was going to kill one James Potter.

Andy couldn't help but comment on her remark. "Eww, that's a sight I'd like to forget."

Felicia snapped her head toward Andy once she registered her words. "And what about you, huh? Why didn't you hex him?!"

"It's not my place," said Andy she sat back in her seat with her arms folded. She kept replaying James's words in her head over and over again and still couldn't believe them.

"Not your place? The bloody hell it isn't!" said Felicia wide-eyed.

"She made a promise to Lil," said Kelly trying to clarify Andy's answer.

"What promise?" asked Felicia. Karen and Kelly noticed this was beginning to calm her down and decided to continue on.

"Not to go off and attack anyone that talks badly about our lot," replied Karen.

Felicia stood there a moment before she gave Andy a quizzical look. "Why would you make such a deal?"

"Because," stared Kelly, "she went after Snivellus after he called Lily a 'you-know-what' by the lake during fifth year."

"He deserved it!" said Felicia in an outrage. "What did you do to him?"

"Hung him upside down wearing nothing but his knickers in front of the Slytherin entrance all night long," said Andy with a bit of a smirk upon recalling how she decided to make Severus Snape pay for his crime.

"Not bad," commented Felicia as she tried to mentally picture a fifteen-year-old Snape hanging upside down. "Of course I would have done it in the Great Hall."

"True," replied Andy. "But it was more fun to see the look of humiliation on his face when Narcissa Black came out of the common room the next morning."

Felicia couldn't help but laugh at the thought. "Ahh, so you gave Snape's old stalker a show of him in his briefs. Nice one."

"Thank you," said Andy with a nod. "If you want to see pictures I'll show it to you once we get to Hogwarts."

"You took pictures?"

"How do you think Lily found out it was me?" said Andy with a grin.

Felicia stared at her friend for a moment in amazement. "You really are a vindictive witch."

"Hey he insulted our friend," said Andy in her defense.

""Plus the fact that you hate him and all his little friends who've now gone and joined 'You-Know-Who'," added Karen.

Andy merely shrugged her shoulders at the comment. "All the more reason to teach him a lesson."

At that moment the compartment door opened and Lily stepped in with a slight scowl on her face.

"Hello Lily," said Andy a little too cheerfully.

"Hi," she replied as she looked at her lot of friends sensing something was amiss. "Who are you lot talking about?"

"No one," said all four girls at once.

Lily gave off a deep sigh before she took the vacant seat next to Kelly. "If you're talking about that insufferable Potter…"

"We're not!" said the fours girls truthfully. Lily studied them a moment before she broke out giggling at how her friends were acting.

"Come on we're almost there," she said as she got up and began to pull out her school robes from her bag. The rest of the girls followed suit and soon enough the train was slowly coming to a stop to the station. Once the train shuttered to a stop, the whole train could hear Hagrid call for the first years outside on the platform. As the group made their way off the train Lily held Andy back a moment.

"Miranda, don't go after…"started Lily, to which Andy gave an exhausted sigh.

"I won't! I promised, remember?" said Andy as she bent over to pick up her school bag. Once she had stood up she saw that Lily didn't believe her. She was right. "Okay I'll…leave…Potter to you," she said difficulty.

"Thank you," replied Lily simply as the both of them headed off the train and toward the carriages. The two girls saw that their three friends were only a little ways ahead which happened to be right in front of the Marauders. As they quickly walked past them to catch up with their group, Andy stretched her arms over her head and gave a loud yawn before she swiftly hit James in the back of his head as she walked past him.

"OW!" cried James as he rubbed the back of his head. He spun around to see who had nailed him when he heard Sirius and Remus begin to chuckle as they looked ahead of them. It was then that James saw Andy giving him a deadly glare that was usually reserved for Slytherins and his best mate. He gave an audible gulp to which the rest of the boys couldn't help but laugh at.

Once Andy was satisfied she turned her head back toward her destination, but felt Lily's eyes on her. "What? My hand slip! You know I get twitchy after a long train ride."

"Right," said Lily but couldn't stop the smirk that played on her lips as they caught up with their friends.

As the girls waited for a carriage to take them up to the castle along with their other friends, a pair of hands quickly came up and covered Andy's eyes.

"Guess who?" said a deep low voice in her ear.

Andy smiled widely at her boyfriend's antics, but decided to mess with him just bit. "Oh Amos, you know we can't fool around anymore. Your best mate might find out," she said a bit dramatically.

With that said Andy was quickly spun around and came face to face with Tristan Miller, her brown haired seventh year Ravenclaw boyfriend. "Ha ha ha…very funny," he said dryly. "You think you're so cute and clever."

"Well that's what I'm told," said Andy flirtatiously as she gazed at the tall dark haired boy before her. Seeing his dark chocolate eyes stare back at her always caused her stomach to get butterflies.

Tristan couldn't contain his laughter any longer before he leaned down to kiss her hello. As Andy began to melt into his loving kiss, she also felt a stabbing pain of guilt tug at her heart, but quickly masked it from him.

"I missed you, sweetheart," he said as he brushed a strand of her hair out of the way to look into her blue eyes properly.

"I missed you too," said Andy sweetly. She could feel the small creep of blush fan across her cheeks that usually happened when he gave her that look.

"How are you doing? Is everything squared with your father?" he inquired with concern written on his face.

Andy took a deep breath as she tried to keep the memories of the past few months at bay and not spoil her reunion. "Some things are."

Tristan pulled her close and held her as she wrapped her arms around his waist and inhaled his scent. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you like I should have been."

"It's alright," said Andy into his shirt. He pulled her away to look at her properly for what he had to say.

"No it isn't," he said with earnest. Andy quickly placed a finger on his lips to silence him.

"You're here now. That's all I need," said Andy truthfully. At that moment she caught a glance of four Gryffindor boys heading over in their direction and a small sense of fear began to creep up her spine. To reassure her boyfriend that all was well, she quickly pulled him into a kiss that almost became out of hand.

Tristan slowly pulled away, slightly wondering what caused his girlfriend to kiss him like that. "Come on. Your friends are waiting for you."

With that the two of them headed to where the four girls were standing waiting for the now approaching carriage.

"Can I join you ladies?" asked Tristan with a smile as greeted the girls.

"You know you don't even need to ask Tristan," chimed Kelly as he opened the door for the girls and helped them into the carriage.

"Right, your just one of the girls anyway," joked Felicia as he helped her into the carriage.

"Well thank you Felicia I'll remember that the next time I need tips on a facial," he said with a laugh.

The girls and Tristan chatted all the way up to the castle talking about their holidays and most especially about who they thought were the new head boy and girl. Once they had arrived at the castle, Tristan was the first out of the carriage and helped all the girls out and walked with Andy for a bit, still holding her hand warmly. To everyone, they looked like the perfect happy couple. But to Lily and Karen, they wondered if their appearance was true, for both of them noticed the troubled look etched on their friend's face which she was trying to hide.

As soon as they got to the top of the stairs, Tristan said good-bye to them all and gave Andy another kiss before running off to meet with his best friend Amos.

"Are you okay?" inquired Lily once she knew Tristan was out of ear shot.

"Of course," said Andy as they headed into the Great Hall. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Just asking," replied Lily as they headed for their seats.

* * *

"Wow, our last time walking through that door," said Peter a little sadly as he jumped onto the staircase up to the school.

"Oh Merlin's beard! Are you going to be like this all year?" barked Sirius jokingly.

"Besides we have a whole school year of walking through that door," chimed Remus as he wrapped an arm around his friend.

James said nothing to his friend's remarks, for he was more concentrated on staring at the red haired girl a few groups ahead of him.

"Hey, snap out of it," said Sirius as he nudged his best mate back into reality.

"I really screwed up big time, huh?"

"Well let me put it this way Prongs. I doubt she or Sparky for that matter will be speaking to you for quite sometime."

James heaved a big sigh before he continued to head on into the Great Hall. Sirius followed him, but not before he noticed Tristan giving Andy a kiss good-bye. A raging dragon awoke in his chest as he glared at his classmate who was now greeting his best friend Amos. Sirius followed the mass of students heading to the Great Hall and managed to get close enough to Tristan and 'accidentally' trip him.

"Oh I'm so sorry there, mate," said Sirius with fake sincerity as he hesitated in helping the boy up.

"Oh that's alright Black. Place is crowded to begin with. Someone was bound to be knocked over," said Tristan brightly as he got up by himself with ease.

"No real harm done. Just glad it didn't happen in front of the little lady," he said with a grin as he brushed off some of the dirt from his robes. "I'll see you later."

Sirius tried his best to keep his disgust with the boy in check. He knew he was a pretty nice bloke and liked him before the end of last term. He also knew that the brown-haired boy pretty much got along with everyone at Hogwarts, which only irritated Sirius more.

"Where did you go?" asked Remus when Sirius took his seat across from him and next to James.

"Ran into Miller," said Sirius as he began to sulk a bit.

"Oh, and how is Tristan?" inquired Peter.

"Wonderful," said Sirius a bit darkly as he rolled his eyes a bit. James crooked an eyebrow at his friend's remarks but didn't get a chance to question his remark, for McGonagall had just arrived with the new first years.

McGonagall placed the sorting hat on the stool and soon the object came to life as it always did to sing another one of its annual poems. This time the hat talked about the houses uniting for the common good and to strengthen relationships with in each House.

"Fat chance that will happen as long as Slytherins are here," whispered Felicia.

"Felicia!" said Lily in shock at her friend's remark.

"Well it's the truth," she added as if she didn't say anything wrong at all.

"Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," said Professor Dumbledore in a loud voice. "I hope you all had a nice holiday and are ready to begin the new school year. I do have a few announcements to make after the feast, but first I think we should fill those empty stomachs with some tantalizing treats. Let the feast begin!"

"That's odd. Why is he waiting until the end?" inquired Lily as all the food suddenly appeared on the table.

"Who knows," said Kelly as she piled her plate with food. "Maybe he hasn't decided yet on who should be head boy and girl, and he needs more time."

"I doubt Dumbledore is stalling," remarked Andy as she spooned out some potatoes.

"You never know," commented Felicia as she poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice. "This is Dumbledore we are talking about here. You know the old man isn't playing with a full deck."

"And some people could say the same thing about you, Figg," said Andy playfully causing her two other friends to laugh uncontrollably.

"Don't even start, Felicia," laughed Lily. "You set yourself up for that one."

Andy looked next to her friend and saw that she hadn't really touched her food. She placed her hand on top of Lily's and gave it a friendly squeeze.

"Don't worry about it Lil. I'm sure there is a perfectly good reason why Dumbledore hasn't announced the Heads of House."

"What if he already has? And it was to another student?" she inquired as looked to her best friend.

"To whom? Narcissa Black? Please!" said Andy as if the thought were a very funny joke. Lily realized that her friend was right and that she was being rather silly in worrying about such trivial things.

The rest of the feast went off nicely. The students ate to there hearts content as they discussed about what each did over their holiday and what has been going on in the wizarding world with the growing threat of Voldemort. After about an hour or so, Dumbledore once again took his place at the podium.

"Well not that our stomachs have stopped growling. I just have a few announcements to make before you are dismissed to your house dormitories. First years please note as well as the returning students that the dark forest is forbidden at all times to anyone who does not with to be submitted to great peril," he said looking more toward the direction of four Gryffindor boys.

"Now I have a special announcement," started Dumbledore. "Well a couple actually."

"Slughorn's gone?" whispered Felicia hopefully.

"I wish," commented Andy as she pointed toward their hefty potion's master.

"First, I'd like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Sizemore," said Dumbledore as he motioned toward middle aged slender looking woman with black hair pulled into tight bun. The crowd of students clapped loudly while some of the male population gave a few cheers as well.

"Wonder what happened to Professor Pilot," inquired Peter as he tried to get a look at the new professor.

"Got a position at another school," commented Remus.

"Besides," added James, "you know the Dark Arts position is cursed."

Remus just shook his head lightly at the comment. "Oh that's just a myth."

"Who cares," remarked Sirius. "She's pretty hot. I just might actually crack open a book for her."

"Oh will you birds keep your beaks closed," commented Andy who was only sitting two seats down from where the boys were.

"Secondly," continued Dumbledore unaware of what was going on. "I'd like to announce that this year is a special year for our little school. As some of you may have heard, Hogwarts will be celebrating a special event. This year our school will be celebrating a thousand years of being instituted. As such, this Christmas we will hold a ball to all those third year and up. Andy first or second year may attend at the invitation by those above them. Now in honor of this anniversary, I thought it would be fitting to announce the Heads of House publicly rather than by owl."

"See? Told you," said Andy as she gave Lily a little nudge.

"The Head boy and girl will be in charge of decorating and planning the ball with the aid of the staff as well as myself," said Dumbledore as he chuckled a bit to himself.

"Oh yay! Fun. More work to hear about," said Felicia under her breath to which Kelly gave a swift elbow to her side.

"This years Head girl comes from the house of Gryffindor. Miss Lilly Evans," said the headmaster warmly as he extended his arm to point out Lily.

Lily sat there a moment in shock before she stood up and bowed to the headmaster and the rest of the staff. The entire hall erupted into cheers and clapping for the young girl. Lily noticed a couple of the professors, including Professor McGonagall, give her a standing ovation. But nothing compared to the cheers that came from her own table, especially from her three friends. She could also hear Karen whistling madly through Andy and Kelly's yelling and screaming.

"Whoa!!" yelled a few fifth year boys down the table.

"Lily! OWWW!!" howled Andy as she clapped and stomped her feet against the stone floor.

"Stop it," said Lily as she began to turn as red as her hair.

"Yay Lily!!" cheered Remus as he clapped loudly.

"Way to go Evans!" yelled Sirius as he too gave her a standing ovation.

"I still can't believe the girl actually thought she wouldn't get it," chimed James once Sirius had retaken his seat next to him.

"Yeah, no kidding," laughed Sirius as he poured some more pumpkin juice into his glass.

"Yes, yes, however! However…as luck would have it, this years Head Boy also comes from the House of Gryffindor," yelled Dumbledore over the crowd.

The students quickly began to whisper to one another and wondered who the boy could be.

"Aww…Snivellus won't be Head Boy? Oh what a shame," said Andy sarcastically.

"Three guess as to who the Head Boy is?" laughed Kelly as she glanced over at the Marauders.

"This years Head Boy is none other than…" began Dumbledore after waiting for the crowd to simmer down a bit.

As she waited for Dumbledore to finish his speech, Andy had picked up her glass and mouthed the words 'Remus Lupin' before taking a gulp of her juice.

"Mister James Potter," the headmaster said lightly.

At that moment two seventh year Gryffindors spit out their pumpkin juice and began to choke in shock of hearing the name uttered by Dumbledore. The hall erupted into a mixture of cheers and gasps over the news. Andy looked at Lily and saw her face turn from shock and confusion, to one of absolute hatred. She then turned to look down the table at her other best friend who looked as if he had swallowed a pepper pop and was waiting for the steam to shoot out of his ears. Peter clapped happily at the news, while Remus wore a look of shock and amusement, but felt a ting bit jealous toward his friend. Sirius on the other hand wore the same look of shock as did Andy while he wiped away the last remaining drops of pumpkin juice off his chin. Although they were separated by only a few students, both of them knew what the other was thinking.

'_This is not good!'_

"Congratulations to both Lily and James for the honor," said Dumbledore brightly as he gazed at the both of them through his half moon spectacles. "I would ask that the new head boy and girl come and see me after everyone has been dismissed. Prefects please lead our first years to their respected houses. To the rest, welcome once again, sleep tight and enjoy your year."

With that said and a wave of his hands, all the dishes disappeared and the students began to make their journeys to their respected Houses. Kelly, Felicia, and Andy bed Lily farewell and wished her luck on her meeting.

"Behave your self Lily," chimed Felicia as she got up from her seat.

"Don't let him get to you," said Kelly as she followed Felicia up the aisle along with everyone else.

Andy turned to her friend who was already prepared for her to speak. "Don't even start," growled Lily.

Andy put her hands up to show that she meant no harm as she began to get up from her seat. "I wasn't going to say anything. For once I was going to stay quiet." With that said she nodded good-bye to her friend and followed after her friends.

Lily didn't know what shocked her most, the fact that her best friend was staying quiet or the fact that her friend had no words to aid her when she would be forced to endure that of James Potter.

"Congratulations James!" said Peter brightly as he marveled at his friend. James stared gaping at Remus speechless.

"I…I…Moony…I…"stuttered James as he tried to find the words to say to his dear friend.

"James, it's fine. You deserve it," said Remus with a smile on his face.

"But," started James but was cut off before he could finish.

"Oh come on Prongs," said Remus with a chuckle at how his friend was reacting to the news of being named Head Boy.

"We all know you are a smarty pants," finished Sirius as he grabbed a hold of his friend's shoulders. "Now here's the proof! Oh, better get going. Wouldn't want to the head master and Lily waiting."

With that said Remus, Peter, and Sirius made their way to the entrance hall while James and Lily followed Professor McGonagall up to Dumbledore's office. Neither of them would look at each other.

Remus broke from his group of friends to attend his prefect duties with Andy. He could see her and a new fifth year prefect helping some of the first years up to Gryffindor tower.

"Hey there Star," said Remus as he came up along side Andy.

"Hi Lupin," said Andy warmly. "What's up?"

Remus merely shrugged his shoulders before he continued speaking. "Some feast huh?"

"Yeah," said Andy as she rolled her eyes and noticed Peeves floating around singing some stupid song. "I know. I thought Lily was going to have a heart attack when James's name was called. I thought for sure Dumbledore was going to say your name."

Remus smiled awkwardly at Andy's comment but regain his composure. "Yeah, well considering…you know what…I'm actually kind of glad he didn't call my name."

"You know what?" repeated Andy who was a little confused at the moment. She was momentarily distracted from her conversation once she heard a familiar voice coming from behind. Remus noticed that she kept looking behind her shoulder for some odd reason.

"Uh yeah, Andy, are you sure you're alright?" he inquired.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Andy now giving him her full attention. "Sorry I just thought I heard someone say my name. Now what were you talking about when you said 'you know what'?"

"Never mind," said Remus a bit uncomfortably. It took Andy a moment to realize exactly what he was talking about and felt like an idiot for about the hundredth time to date.

"Remus," she sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't see 'that' as a problem?"

"A lot," laughed the light haired boy.

"Right," she continued, "and I still think you should tell a certain someone about it."

"Andy I can't tell her," said Remus tired of having the same fight with the blond haired vixen.

"You told me," said Andy matter of fact-ly.

"No, you found out on accident. Remember," countered Remus.

Andy opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it remembering exactly how she found out about her friend being a werewolf, and knew that he was right. "Oh yeah. An, who cares any way," she said as she waved her hand to dismiss the thought. "Just tell her. She'll understand."

Remus gave off a sigh and knew that this was going to be a never ending battle with Andy. He knew he should tell Karen about his condition, but he was more afraid of how she would treat him after he told her rather than her initial reaction.

"Listen," started Andy. Remus was prepared for yet another volley of her words about the matter, but it wasn't necessary. "Uh…I've got to run. Do you think you can handle them?" she asked motioning toward the younger students.

"Yeah, sure," said Remus a little concerned. "Something wrong?"

"No, no. Nothing's wrong. I just need to have a talk with someone before they head up to their room," said Andy in a bit of a hurry.

It took Lupin a moment until he noticed Andy's boyfriend heading down a hallway toward the Ravenclaw entrance. "Oh, right. Tristan."

"Yeah," said Andy after a split second delay. "Bye!" Before Remus could even blink he saw her running off and getting lost among the crowd of students.

"Wow, I can't believe it!" exclaimed Peter. "James Head Boy!"

"Yeah it's a real trip, Wormtail," commented Sirius as the two of them walked down the hallway toward the back of the crowd of students heading up their rooms.

"I know! Think of all the havoc we could cause," said an excited Peter as he practically jumped up and down the hallway.

But Sirius couldn't really think of any. All though the shock of finding out his best friend was just named Head Boy of Hogwarts was enough to render anyone speechless; the only thoughts that occupied Sirius's head were those of a particular blond haired spitfire.

"...oh and we can sneak into the Slytherin House and plant dung bombs all over the place..."

But Sirius never really heard what else Peter had to say. At that particular moment, someone had caught him off guard. Someone had snuck up behind him, placed their hand over his mouth, and dragged him by his collar into a nearby broom closet. The moment they were in the closet, his 'somewhat' kidnapper lit her wand that cast a bright light under her blue eyes.

"Ah, glad you could make it to my meeting on such short notice," said Andy in a low voice.

"Sparky? What the hell is going on?" whispered Sirius shocked at what was happening.

"We need to talk," said Andy simply as she leaned against wall of the broom closet.

"About?" asked a highly confused Sirius.

"Uh...isn't it obvious? Lil and Jay. Head boy and girl. Scene on the train. Ringing any bells here?" said Andy as if he had lost his mind.

"Right. Right. Yeah. That was some shock," said Sirius now realizing what she wanted to talk about. He gave a slight sigh of relief grateful that she didn't want to talk about what had happened earlier on the train. He wasn't sure if his emotions could handle another round of being so close to her and not being able to touch her.

"You're telling me. I thought Lil was going to hex Dumbledore and James in the blink of an eye," said Andy as she brushed some of the hair out of her face.

"I know. I saw," said Sirius as an idea popped into his head. "Hmm?"

"What is it?" asked Andy a bit concerned.

"Just thinking," said Sirius off handedly.

Andy stood there for a moment knowing that look on his face. She knew that some idea was forming in his head. She stood there staring at him for a moment with her arms folded in front of her. "Well?"

"What if this is that break we were hoping for?" he said thoughtfully.

"Don't think the thought didn't cross mind," she said as if the idea were an obvious one.

"Of course after what happened on the train..."started Sirius.

"Yeah. I know. Geez! Why the hell do they have to make this so hard?" said a frustrated Andy as she began to pull at her hair.

Sirius watched her actions and couldn't help but smirk at how cute she looked when she was frustrated. "Well look on the bright side."

"Which is?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We don't have to try and figure out how to get them in the same room," he said a bit brightly.

Andy thought for a moment and realized he was right. "That is true."

"So were back on with the plan?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yes. Why wouldn't we be?" she asked looking at him as if he had grown two heads.

"Never mind. So what's the plan then?" asked Sirius, grateful that they were in a dark broom closet.

"Uh...I got nothing. You?" said Andy a little lame.

"Nope. Nothing," said Sirius thinking that they were back at square one once again.

"Maybe we should call in for reinforcements?" said Andy after a few moments of pondering.

It was Sirius's turn to look at her as if she had grown two heads all of a sudden. "You mean bring more people into this crazy idea?"

"Hey you didn't think it was crazy a minute ago, Blackie!" snapped Andy.

"I'm kidding! So who did you have in mind?" said Sirius quickly to avoid yet another fight with Andy.

"Kelly...maybe Karen," she said a bit cautiously.

Sirius nodded in agreement. "What about Remus or Peter?"

"Remus yes. Peter no," said Andy quickly. Sirius raised an eyebrow at her remark. "He'd give it away in a second. You know he can't lie to James."

"Right," he agreed knowing that his friend couldn't hold water if his life depended on it. "Well what's wrong with Felicia?"

Andy scoffed at his idea. "Ummm...do you really want to bring your ex-girlfriend, whose heart you broke when trying to surprise you on your birthday, and now because of that can't stand the sight of you?"

"Good point," he said remembering how she reacted when they had broken up and her more than welcome hello at the train stations earlier that day. "Okay, so no Figg or Wormtail. Got it. I think we should tell them all together."

"Fine. We can tell them tomorrow."

Sirius made a noise that was half way between a growl and a grunt. "Eh...I think we should wait a bit."

"Why?"

"Moony," he said simply.

"What's wrong with...oh," said Andy realizing what time of the month it was. "When?"

"Friday."

"Okay. So...we'll tell them Sunday?" she said wondering if the date would work.

"Sounds good to me. You know..." started Sirius as he moved closer to Andy. "I'm not sure if I like this new secret meeting place. Although I'll admit it is a hell of a lot warmer than up in the Astronomy tower."

Andy watched as he gave his signature eyebrow wiggle and eyed her up and down. She knew he was trying to act normal and was grateful for the comforting banter. "Don't get use to it Blackie," she spat with disgust. "I'll see you later."

* * *

"Welcome Ms. Evans and Mr. Potter," said Dumbledore brightly as he stretched his arms wide to welcome them to his office. "I'm glad you could join me."

James looked around the all too familiar head master's office and noticed that the old wizard had added some new odd trinkets to his collection. He also noticed that Dumbledore's pet phoenix wasn't looking too well and figured that his burning day was come up soon. But what amazed James the most was how fast Dumbledore had gotten back to his office when he last saw him talking to Professor Slughorn in the Great Hall when everyone was dismissed to bed.

"Would you care for some tea?" he asked once Lily and James had taken their seat in front of his desk. Lily still would not even glance at James the whole trip up to his office.

"No thank you, sir," said Lily calmly.

"None for me, sir," said James quickly.

"Very well then. I'm sorry for not notifying the both of you sooner about the position you each had earned but I felt that this year's announcements needed a bit of dramatic flare. A bit of surprise if you will," said Dumbledore with a bit of a chuckle.

"Certainly surprised me," said James under his breath.

"First of all, I'd like to congratulate you both once again for achieving such high marks these past years. Your hard work has paid off and now I believe it is time for the both of you to enjoy some of the benefits of working as diligently as you have in your studies," said Dumbledore as he pulled out two rolls of parchment and handed them to Lily and James.

"Here is a complete list of what I expect out of each Head Boy and Girl and the perks of holding such a position," said Dumbledore. "Each of you will be given your own room to use at your discretion, as well as sharing a common room. Both of you will still be given a bed in the seventh year rooms, as I'm sure the both of you have grown quite fond of your friendships with your roommates."

"In that parchment you will also find a list of all the passwords to each of the Houses to be used if such a time occurs, and only such," said Dumbledore with a smirk as he gazed at James.

"Now as for the ball, I want you both to know that this is to be a fun event, and that the staff is here at your discretion. You do not need to worry about the food for we already have a menu in mind which Professor McGonagall will send to you to make sure that it meets with the standards of Hogwarts students. Personally I'd be rather disappointed if I found liver and onion on the menu instead of a tasty steak," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eyes.

James couldn't help but chuckle at the idea, and noticed that Lily too gave an audible snort at the idea.

"As for the entertainment, if there is a particular band that the students would enjoy, let me know and I'll see what I could do. But in case one can not be found, please give Professor Flitwick a list of songs and music that he can conjure up for the ball. We don't want to have a riot start over because we are not playing the latest hit by the Polly Pixies," said Dumbledore a bit darkly.

Lily sat there a little amazed at the fact that her head master even knew who the Polly Pixies were.

"Other than that, the main task you two shall have is in decorating our great hall. Now if you need help, Professor McGonagall as well as several other professors have already volunteered to help in arranging the hall. But of course the more help, the merrier I say! Now do either of you have any questions at this time that I could answer?" inquired Dumbledore.

"I just have one question professor," said Lily. James was ready for this. He knew that she was going to ask if Dumbledore had lost the few marbles left in his head in naming James Head Boy.

"Yes Lily?" asked Dumbledore.

"Where exactly is our common room located?" asked Lily with her hands folded in her lap.

"The Head Boy and Girl common room is located behind the grand portrait of the four founders on the fifth floor. The password is _Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus_,"said Dumbledore. "Are there any other questions?"

Lily shook her in reply and began to stand up from her chair. "I have a question," said James quickly.

"Yes Mr. Potter?" said Dumbledore brightly. James glanced over and saw Lily sit back down in her chair and roll her eyes to the ceiling.

"I was wonder…why me? I mean…why did you name me of all people to be Head Boy? I mean given my track record sir, I'm not the greatest of role models. Why not someone like…Remus Lupin!" said James not knowing where that had come from.

Lily stared at the boy next to her as if she had just suddenly realized that he was sitting next to her the whole time. Dumbledore on the other hand sat back in his seat, and folded his hands to a point and looked at James over his half moon spectacles with a smirk hidden behind his beard.

"Well James, although Mr. Lupin does possess the grades and talent of being a potentially good head boy, I thought it almost quite obvious as to why you of all people should be given the title," said the headmaster with a hint of merriment in his voice.

James stared at Dumbledore as if he had begun to speak Parseltongue to both he and Lily. James noticed out of the corner of his eyes that Lily too wore a confused expression on her face.

"Could you run that by me again Professor?" asked James trying to decipher what the headmaster had said earlier.

"James after what happened last year involving Severus Snape; I felt that you were the perfect choice for being head boy," said Dumbledore simply.

"So I get's the highest position at Hogwarts because I stopped Snape from getting killed? And had he not had taken Sirius's suggestion, none of it would have happened?" said James even more confused than before.

"Correct. James, you not only saved Severus. You saved a person you considered an enemy because he was in danger. A person who you have made a victim of the pranks that you your self have owned up to. Now if you could stand up for a person you say you hate, I think that you are able to stand up for all those who attend this school. And that my boy is a fine definition of what a role model should be," said Dumbledore brightly.

James sat there for a moment taking in the headmaster's words and felt a sense of pride and honor in what Dumbledore had said. Lily too sat there and couldn't believe her own ears. But slowly she realized that the headmaster was right, and that James was indeed a hero not only in saving Snape, but in overcoming his own dislike for her former friend. She then began to see in James what Dumbledore did and knew that he was perfect person for the job. A person who called her boring only a few hours prior.

"Are there any other questions? No? Then in that case I believe we should all call it a night. I'm sure the two of you are pretty exhausted from your journey. I think it best to get some rest before classes. I wouldn't want to be the reason why our new Head Boy and Girl fell asleep in class. Goodnight to the both of you, and congratulations once again," said Dumbledore with a smile.

Lily and James bed the headmaster goodnight and headed down the spiral staircase to the now dark and drafty hallway. The both of them headed up to the fifth floor and walked toward the huge portrait of the four founders of Hogwarts that hung at the end of the main corridor. Lily was the one to utter the pass phrase that caused the portrait to swing open and revel a common room that was similar to that found in Gryffindor tower. The only difference was that the room was slightly smaller and had two doors on either side of the room. Upon closer inspection they noticed that the doors had gold plaques hanging from then that read Head Boy: James Potter and Head Girl: Lily Evans.

Lily was about to walk into her room when James stopped her. "Lily wait!" He watched as she spun around and stared at him with the familiar hatred for him in her eyes. Only this time there was more of a fire hidden beneath her green orbs that was slightly more disturbing than her silence toward him.

"I'm sorry for what I said on the train," he said quickly before she could utter a protest. "I don't know what…"

"Don't!" growled Lily that rendered James speechless. "Don't even start. Not tonight. I'm too tired, and I have nothing to say to you."

James nodded in understanding what she meant and watched as she spun around and walked into her room before she slammed the door shut. James gave a heavy sigh and turned toward his own room until he heard her door open again.

"On second thought, I do have something to tell you," said Lily as she walked right up to him. James was quickly preparing himself for Lily's words but he never heard them. Instead he felt a sharp stabbing pain in the gut from where she punched. The attack caught him so off guard that the wind was knocked right out of him, causing him to fall to the floor.

"Now, I'm done talking to you," said Lily darkly before turning on her heels and walking back into her room and slamming to door shut once again.

James laid there a moment trying to regain his normal breathing pattern and could only think of how adorable she looked coming out of her room the second time.

'_Well, I'm glad she doesn't hate me_,' he thought to himself. '_Eh, that joke would have been funnier had Padfoot been here._'

* * *

**A/N:** Yes I'm back! I'm sorry for the delay. Life got in the way yet again. But don't worry I'm not abandoning this story. Hell I've invested how many years now? But don't worry…there is an end. I promise…it will probably be coming in about ten chapters or so, but there is an end. Thank you to all who have waited so patiently for this story and have stuck with it through the years.

Thanks again for all the reviews! I love seeing those emails in my inbox. They make my day so much better.

As always flames, praises, or whatever are welcomed here.

Until next time….

**Disclaimer:** Oh just look at the previous chapters.


	41. Leave Out All the Rest

Recap: Lily Evans and James Potter have been at war with each other for years. That is, until their dear friends Andy Starmenter and Sirius Black (know mortal enemies in their own right) band together and try to make them see that they are good for each other. Now that the Hogwarts gang have entered their final year things start off with a bang; namely with the announcement of the new Head Boy and Girl of Hogwarts. So now, as the school year begins secrets are revealed, destinies are established, and bonds between friends and lovers will be tested. And now…on with the story!!!

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter 41: Leave Out All the Rest**

As classes started the following day, the students set back into their normal routines of classes, homework, and of course gossip. As Thursday rolled around, everything seemed normal, that is except for the new Head Boy and Girl. As a few of the fifth and sixth years commented on viewing the pair together ('You'd have to be blind not to see how much she hates him.') James merely rolled his eyes as he continued to walk around the school before heading down to get some lunch.

Neither Lily nor any of the other Gryffindor girls were talking or even acknowledging his presence. Especially was true in the case of his best girl, Andy. Since they arrived back to Hogwarts, Andy had hardly said two words to him. He did, although happen to receive several hits upside the head from her when they were in class, in the hallway, or even at meals for the matter. As he continued to walk down the hallway ignoring everyone, he happened to noticed a seventh year girl with a busy blond ponytail walking ahead of him alone.

"Andy! Hey Andy wait up!" he yelled as he ran to catch up with her.

Andy glared up at the ceiling upon hearing James's voice. She continued to read her Dark Arts book, trying to ignore the thundering steps that were echoing up quickly behind her.

"Andy would you just talk to me?" he asked as he jumped in front of her pathway. She merely sidestepped his block and continued on her course.

"I have nothing to say to you," she muttered as she began to flip the pages in her book.

"Oh come on Star. We both know you aren't happy until you make someone pay for hurting your friends. And considering what I did, I'm surprise I'm not hanging from the rafters with multicolored hair and girls' underwear on." He commented as he fell into step along side her.

"Girls' underwear? Hmm…there's an idea," she said more to herself.

James sighed in frustration at Andy's attempts to ignore him. He finally made on last ditch attempt to get her to talk to him by jumping in front of her once more halting her retreat.

"Andy, please? Okay I'm sorry!"

Andy let out a deep huff. She knew there was no point in trying to be rid of him now. "Why are you apologizing to me? If you'd had called me boring to my face, I'd have broken that cute little nose of yours along with your glasses."

"Like you could even try," said James trying to lighten the mood a bit, thinking she would go along with it. Apparently he was wrong.

Before James could say a word, Andy had grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him into a dark and dingy looking bathroom. There were large puddles of water all over the floor and by the looks of it, they had been there awhile.

"All right, who are you and what have you done with James Potter?" barked Andy as she held him against the wall.

James easily pushed her off before he addressed her. "What are you going on about?"

"Oh don't give me that line! Who the hell are you?" she asked again as she stared at the boy before her. "What are you Lestrange trying out a polyjuice potion? Did you and Blackie switch brains or something?"

"No," he said as if she had lost her mind finally.

"Then what happened to you? Because the Potter I know would never say that to anyone, let alone the girl he fancies."

"Well maybe I've finally grew up. I'm over her," he said with a hint of arrogance that didn't go unnoticed by his close female friend.

Andy sighed heavily before speaking again. She was trying desperately to keep her temper in check. "Jay, you know I'm your friend. Heck you're practically a brother to me."

"I know."

"Now I'm going to tell you this with as much sisterly love as possible. You are full of shit!"

"Andy…" he started.

"Shut up James! You wanted me to talk, you've got it!" exclaimed Andy. She took a deep breath before she unloaded what she had been bottling up since the incident happened. "James…why on earth would you do that? Especially to Lily! You've had a thing for her sine we were fifteen, and now all of sudden you decide 'oh I'm over her'! 'I'm not infatuated with her anymore'? Give me a break."

James let out a deep sigh. "You don't understand."

"Then enlighten me. Why wouldn't I understand? Because I'm a frigid wench?" she asked hoping to get some form of a response from him.

"No, of course not."

"Then just tell me!"

"I can't. Not here anyway." James looked around the bathroom as if the walls had ears. Andy noticed this and the fact that he kept watching the door as if someone were going to barge in on them at any moment.

"Why not?" she asked.

"What if someone comes in to use the loo?" he asked while pointing to the various toilets in the stalls.

"They won't. No one ever comes in here. This is Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."

"Oh!" James had heard of the famous bathroom that housed the young ghost, but never really had an interest in exploring it. Unlike his other friends who found the story interesting. "Where is she?"

"Don't know. Probably checking out which ever bloke is in the prefect's bathroom," replied Andy with a shrug. She watched as James's face turn to disgust at the mention of it. "Hey…she may be a ghost. But she's still a teenager. So then…what is going on?"

**************************************************************************************************

When the start of lunch rolled around Sirius entered the Great Hall with a bit of a skip in his step. He smiled at some adoring third years that immediately began to giggle madly. As Sirius approached his house table, he noticed that none of his friends had arrived yet. He gave a small frown a he began to sit down. That is…until he noticed a certain young lady with auburn hair nibbling at her plate while looking over her potions book.

Lily was lost in thought as she scanned over her potions book of a new brew they would be creating in a few hours. She was about to make a note in the margin until she felt someone's eyes on her. When she looked up she was greeted with a pair of grey eyes staring right at her.

"Good afternoon Lily. Is this seat taken?" said Sirius with a grin as he motioned to the empty seat next to her.

To say that Lily was surprised by his sudden appearance would have been an understatement. She shook off her initial shock and put on her game face for dealing with Sirius while he was in his charismatic mode.

"Hello Sirius. Can I help you with something?"

"You could answer my question, please."

Lily motioned for him to have a seat while she shut her text book. There was no point in trying to study now.

"So…what do you want Black?"

"Now why would you think that?" asked Sirius in his smooth voice, that knew drove the girls crazy. Well…most girls, apart from for those in his own year.

Lily looked at him and tried her best to refrain from rolling her eyes. "Because I know you, and you hardly ever come to talk to me during lunch. As a matter of fact you've never come over to talk to me ever…unless it was to get information from me to use against one of my friends."

"That was in the past. I've grown up! We are in our seventh year after all. Besides, I need to have a reason to talk to you, other than the fact that you are prettiest girl in all of Hogwarts?" he asked, pulling out all the stops to flirt with her.

Lily tried her best not to laugh in the poor guys face at his miserable attempt to flirt with her. "Nice try, Sirius. But lines like those didn't work back when we were fourth years; they sure as hell are not going to work on me now."

"Well a guy can try. Actually Evans, I came over to congratulate you on making Head Girl. Of course there really was no contest there."

"Thank you, Sirius. But you are wrong. It could have gone to anyone," she said in matter of fact tone.

Sirius watched as she took a drink from her cup and at how she seemed to sit a bit taller at the mention of her new title. "Oh don't be so modest, my dear."

"Dear?" she croaked as she tried not to choke on her pumpkin juice.

"Again, a guy can hope," he said with a sly grin.

Lily let out a low chuckle while shaking her head at his line. "You really do have that Gryffindor courage down pack."

"And you have been hanging around Sparky too much," he said with a deep sigh knowing that look on Lily's face was a common staple for Andy.

"Well maybe that's a good thing," Lily responded with a wicked smile.

Sirius began to laugh at the girl's actions. She had spunk, and a quick wit that would drive any man crazy. "I can see now why Prongs likes you so much."

At the mention of James's nickname, Lily's mood turned suddenly sour. "I doubt that entirely."

"Why would you say that?" inquired a curious Sirius.

"Well considering what Potter said on the train, I don't think we'll be the best of friends now."

*************************************************************************************************************

"I don't know what's wrong with me," said James. "Okay?"

"You're lying," sang Andy with her arms folded.

James let out a low growl at his friend's stubbornness to get the truth out of him. "You know Andy, this really isn't easy for me."

"Oh don't give me that 'it's not easy for me to talk about my feeling because I'm a bloke' speech. It didn't work for my real brother, so it sure as Merlin isn't going to work for you."

"I can't…"strained James.

Andy knew that she was close to breaking him. "Can't…what?"

James let out another low growl before finally giving up and letting the truth out. "I can't stop thinking about her!!! Okay? Every time I close my eyes I see her, Miranda. I dream about her practically every night. And it's killing me!! You know a guy can only withstand so much rejection in his life from one girl."

"James…" said Andy. She was shell-shocked. She had no clue that he felt this deeply for her best friend.

"I can't do it anymore, Andy. I thought that maybe if I stayed away from her then it would be easier. But now…with this stupid Head Boy thing…I don't know what to do anymore," he said shrugging his shoulders.

"James…in all the years I've known you, I've never seen you afraid of anything."

James huffed at her comment. "Love can make you do some really crazy things. Or…lust…or what ever it is I have," he said hurriedly, hoping that she hadn't picked up on what he said.

Andy stared at James for a moment contemplating his words and trying to digest them. "So…what you have here is a dilemma."

"You're just now realizing this?" he said as he fell against the cold wall

Andy watched his sad and broken form sit on the bathroom floor. Seeing him at a low point like this was something she was not use to. This was a sight usually reserved for Sirius or even Remus, but never her.

Andy squatted down to his level and spoke to him in a friendly voice. "You want some advice?"

"Sure! Why not," said James sarcastically as he raised his arms in a dramatic shrug.

"Become friends with her," said Andy simply.

"I tried that. Remember?"

Andy let out a soft laugh at her friend's dry humor. "No. I mean just her friend. The last time you still had a goal of dating her. What I mean is really try to b just a friend to her. Like how we are."

"I guess I could try it."

"Of course…you were on the right track before you blew up on the train."

***************************************************************************************************************

"Oh…you should have heard him talking about you before the train," said Sirius before slightly regretting it.

She saw his face slight cringe after the words left his mouth. "What are you talking about?" inquired Lily.

Sirius took a deep breath before speaking once again. "Well…from what James was telling me over the summer…it sounded like you were becoming fast friends in Spain."

"He talked about that?" asked Lily in complete wonderment.

***************************************************************************************************************

"I know! I know!" shouted James.

"No…not really. James I know about Spain," said Andy as she looked down at the small puddle of water between the two of them.

James quickly looked up at her in amazement. "What? How?"

"Who do you think?" asked Andy rhetorically. "Lily told me how she ran into you there and how you two spent a couple of days together seeing the sights with your families. She even kept asking me questions about you."

"She did? What kind of questions?" James was now highly captivated by Andy's words.

Andy merely shrugged her shoulders not really knowing what to say at first. "Little things, like what is your favorite Quidditch team. Who your favorite player was? You're favorite color. What do you look like with your shirt off…"

"She asked that?" he asked with a slight squeak.

"Well…not the last question, but you get the picture," replied Andy with an impish grin.

***************************************************************************************************************

"Are you kidding me?" laughed Sirius at the look upon Lily's face. "Every time I saw him, he kept telling me a story about you and him in Spain."

"Oh really?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hogwarts honor," replied Sirius as he raised his hand in honor. He watched Lily as his words suck in. A small smile began to pull at the corners of her mouth as she thought about her summer trip and talking with James. That simple smile told Sirius all need to know. There was still hope for this crazy plan after all.

"So what did you think?" he asked suddenly.

"Of what?" asked a confused Lily.

Sirius looked at her as if the question had been an obvious one. "Spain. Did you enjoy yourself while you were there?"

"Oh! Yes I did. It was very beautiful. Have you been there before?"

"I went a couple of years ago," he replied nonchalantly.

"Really?"

"You sound surprise."

"I am a bit. I just never really saw you as someone who would enjoy Spanish culture," said Lily quickly. As soon as she said the simple sentence she suddenly remembered whom she was talking to and how her words could be twisted into something…unethical. "I mean…from…never mind…"

Sirius couldn't help but play at Lily's now slightly flustered state. "How did you see me then?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she replied quickly.

"Oooohh…I'm intrigued now."

"Well…you would be Mr. Black," said Lily with a slight chuckle. She couldn't believe she was having this type of conversation with Sirius. But what surprised her most was that she was actually enjoying herself.

"Oh…Mr. Black now. I feel all special now," he replied while inhaling deeply and batting his eyelashes. Lily let out a loud burst of giggles that she had been trying to contain. "Ha! I knew I'd get a full laugh out of you."

Lily slightly pouted and sighed. "Darn. I guess you do win."

"Then don't you think I deserve a reward?" Sirius asked smoothly with a smirk.

Lily had noticed how close he was now and that was leaning into her. "Depends on the reward?"

Sirius was silent for a moment before releasing his piercing grey eyes upon her. "Why don't you tell me about what you and Prongs did in Spain?"

"I thought…" started Lily in confusion.

"James likes to embellish sometimes," he replied quickly and in business like tone. "I know from you…I'd get the real story. Girls always tell the truth when their reputation is questioned."

Lily knew now what type of game he was playing. "It wasn't anything too exciting like you are hinting at. And I seriously doubt James wouldn't tell you of all people the utmost truth. We just saw a couple of sights and just talked."

"Talked?" asked Sirius as if the idea were laughable.

"Yes, Sirius. We just talked. It wasn't a big scandal like you think it was," she stated with dark eyes.

"Oh boo…" he huffed.

"Besides if there really was one, I'd never tell you of all people," said added for dramatic attack.

"And why is that?"

"Because everyone knows you are the biggest gossip spreader in all of Hogwarts."

"That is not true" exclaimed Sirius.

Lily simply looked at time with a raised eyebrow before speaking. "Who was the one that started the rumor about Mary Winters's underwear? Or that Stan West dances and sings along with the Flowering Daisies?"

"Well…"

"Or biggest gossip bomb to this date…who Andy had a crush on back when we were in third year?"

Sirius reflected for a moment at one of his greatest pranks to date. "Oh yeah…that was one of my best forms of spreading the news. What was the blokes name again?"

Lily shook her head in utter amazement. "You really are a stuck up prat."

"Yes, but admit it," he said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You've grown to like me."

"Keep dreaming," she stated while rolling her eye.

Lily then felt Sirius lean in close to her ear as he whispered "Oh don't worry. I will."

****************************************************************************************************************

"We just talked. A lot actually," said James as he paced back and forth in front of a seated Andy. "She kind of helped me deal with my family. The extended part anyway."

"Oh right…the crazy old timers that should've past on a while ago," said Andy as she recalled the one and only time she had met the extended Potter family that she was also connected to in some way or another.

"The same ones."

"What was it this time?" asked Andy as she got up to stretch her legs. "How cute you were when you were a baby? Or how much you looked like some old or dead relative?"

James laughed at her questions. "No. This time it was 'when will James be married and continue on the Potter line'."

"Oh! So you were talking to my relatives," said Andy.

"Yes…I guess," replied James with a soft laugh.

"Well good thing that Lil had enough practice with me and dealing with those old geezers from hell." Andy watched James's face seem to change as if his mind had wandered off to another time and place. "What is it James?"

James shook his head as he tried to rid his thoughts that were running through his mind. "I don't know. Just…forget about it."

The room was eerily silent as the two friends took in the situation they both shared. Both were from families that wanted to see their lineage continue on and were now looking to them to fulfill that dream. They could both feel the fact that slowly their lives were changing whether they liked it or not. Deep down they both silently wondered 'how did they get like this?' and 'what do they do now?'

James felt the sudden pressure of Andy's hand on his shoulder causing him to turn around. "For what it's worth…" she started "I could tell that she had a good time in Spain."

"She did?" he asked with a small smile that graced his face.

Andy couldn't help but smile as well as she watched James. "She even seemed like she wanted to further your friendship…in a more public setting."

"Really?"

"Well…she did…"said Andy. She wasn't she if she should continue her thought. But by the look on James's face she knew she had too. "Until you opened that trap of yours on the train."

"Urrrgghh!! I'm such a moron!!!" roared James as the reality of what his actions came crashing down on him once more.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," sighed Andy. "Why did you do it, Jay? Why would you say those things when you don't mean them?"

"I don't know!! The guys were talking and…"he started.

"And…what?"

James let out a sigh. He knew at this point he could tell her…that he could trust her with the truth. "I didn't want them knowing again...that I still care about her. I know how much of a pain I was the last couple of years to them. So…I figured I'd just deal with this crush on my own until I was over it."

"James you've had this crush on her since fifth year. I don't think it's going to disappear over night," said Andy.

James rubbed his face in exhaustion. "She's never going to talk to me again."

"Maybe."

"Maybe what?" said James as he looked at his best gal pal.

"She will talk to you again. Eventually. She just needs time to calm down. If she knew…"started Andy.

"No!" roared James. "She can't know. She can never know I still like her. I've caused her enough pain already. I shouldn't even be thinking of trying to have a conversation with her. I just…she needs someone better than me as a friend. She deserves better."

"James…"said Andy.

"I give up Andy. I can't fix this. No one can. It's over," said James.

With that James walked out of the bathroom and headed off down the hall with a million thoughts going through his head. Andy just stood there in slight awe at what her best friend had just unwillingly confessed in his speech. James was not just infatuated with Lily Evans. He was head over heels, deeply in love with her.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes…okay…I know it's been a long time. Here is the deal…life got crazy and stuff happened (like school, work, and oh yeah…finally graduating college!) So…now that that is all said and done, I can finally finish this story. And yes, there is an ending to this never ending story. I have a few chapters already written out, but there is still a lot of editing to do. I probably won't post for awhile while I'm working on the ending. But don't worry…for those of you that have stayed with this story since the beginning, I will try to make it worth your while. As for those that have just now stumbled upon my little creation…welcome!

Okay now peeps…I'm off to work on this some more. Until next time…


	42. Mysterious Ways

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Forty-Two: Mysterious Ways**

James walked around the castle for a few hours trying to clear his head of the many thoughts that now consumed him. He eventually made his way back to his prefect common room to find none other than Lily sitting in one of the large chairs reading her potions book.

"Hello James," she said as she watched him come in.

"H-hello," he stuttered. He saw her close her book and look at him square in the eye.

"Can we talk?" she asked a little unsure of herself.

"Talk?"

Lily sighed before she continued. "Yes. I think we need to establish a new common ground between us."

James let out a frustrated growl that caught Lily off guard. James was tired of the drama that the two of them seemed to create whenever they were around one another. "Look if Andy put you up to this…"

"Andy? Why would Andy have anything to do with this? Andy hasn't spoken to you in weeks. She's still pretty upset about you…or at least she was when I last talked to her at breakfast," commented Lily.

James realized then that he had jumped the gun once again. "Oh, right. So…what did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to talk about how this whole living arrangement and working together will play out," said Lily hoping to once and for all come to terms with him.

"I thought we established that when we first got back," chuckled James as he replayed the events that occurred in this very room.

Lily slightly winced upon remembering her actions. "I'm sorry about that. I was angry and foolish for loosing my temper like that."

"No, Lily you had every right to do that," said James. He couldn't bear to hear Lily apologize for his own foolish actions that had caused her pain.

"James…"

"No really. It's fine. I had it coming," James as he ran a hand through his naturally unruly hair. "Listen I know you have worked really hard to get to where you are now. So…I'll make a deal with you. I promise not to be such a pest and ruin everything for you. I'll tell the guys to lay off on the pranks and promise to show up to every meeting you call for. But more importantly…I'll stop chasing you. I think it's only fair that I keep my distance from you since it seems like every time we try to be friends…it falls apart. I think that's the best thing for the both of us."

With that said James started head toward his room leaving a stunned Lily to take in his words.

"What about me?" she suddenly said.

"What about you?" he asked looking at her curiously.

"Don't I get a say in anything? You say you are going to do all these things yet…you ask nothing of me? I don't think that's very fair." said Lily as she tried to keep her anger in check. '_How dare he make a choice without thinking of what I want!'_

"Life isn't fair Lily," he said quietly.

"Isn't there something I can do in this arrangement you created?" said Lily as she stared blankly at James.

James looked up at her and smiled sweetly upon looking at her beautiful face. "Just for you to be happy."

Lily looked astounded at him not sure what she should say or do.

"I think I'm going to take a nap. It's been a long day," sighed James. "See you around Ms. Evans."

* * *

Lily didn't know how to react to James's transformation. He kept true to his word and heard no more complaints or advancements from him. In fact she hardly saw him at all outside of the classroom or at meal time. Every time she went to try and start up a conversation, he would disappear with his broomstick and go practice with either Sirius or Andy.

Although for years Lily had wished for James to stop bothering her and just forget about his silly little crush, she now started to feel an ache in her chest that only seemed to disappear when James was in the same room as her.

Of course James's avoidance of Lily hadn't gone unnoticed. It seemed that the whole school was aware of the new Head boy and girl's distance toward one another. A status that Andy and Sirius knew had to be remedied quickly.

As the school year got more into full swing so did Quidditch practice for the students at Hogwarts. As for the Gryffindor team, their practices were now more or less being run by the two 'assistant captains'.

After a grueling Quidditch practice during yet another thunderstorm, the drenched and muddy Gryffindor team made their way to the locker rooms.

"Geez, how many more practices like that are we going to have?" asked Lindsay the fourth year seeker, who joined the team last year.

"As many as it takes," grunted Andy as she pulled off her leg pads and muddy boots.

"And how ever long this rain lasts," commented Robin as she shook off her soaked robes.

"Four days of rain! You'd think it was the Great Flood or something," joked Lindsay.

"Well McGonagall could create a giant boat for everyone," commented Andy.

"Yeah we can push the Slytherin team off it," joked Robin.

"Haha...yeah that would be pretty," laughed Lindsay.

"Okay, come on girls. Let's hit the showers," said Andy as she pulled off her soaking Quidditch robes.

"Why do we have to change and shower out here instead of up in the castle?" inquired Lindsay.

"You can thank Black for that," snorted Andy. "Last time we had practice he tracked mud all through the common room and then sat on the couch."

"Eww!" squealed Lindsay.

"Yeah so when McGonagall found out, she said that if it happened again she'd pull us out of the next two games," added Robin.

"Yikes!"

"Geez, what is Black? A dog?" asked Robin as she gathered her things for the showers.

"Some days," said Andy under her breath. "Come on let's go."

"Oooh!" said Lindsay in a low voice.

"What is it Lindsay?" asked Robin.

"Nothing. I just had a nice mental picture of all the boys in the shower," she replied with a dreamy look upon her face.

Robin soon had the same look upon her face as she also envisioned the guys in the showers. "Mmm...Nick all wet."

"Ken all soapy," sighed Lindsay

"James's pecs."

"And Sirius's abs!!" cried the both of them.

"Alright that's enough," groaned Andy as she shook her head at the two boy-crazed girls. "I probably already have pneumonia; I don't need to loose my lunch on top of it."

"Oh come on Andy. It's just a bit of fun," laughed Lindsay

"Oh lay off her. We are talking about her best mate," chuckled Robin.

"Who is practically my brother," added Andy.

"Plus let's not forget your vendetta against his best mate."

"Yeah, how long are you going to hate Sirius, Andy?" inquired Lindsay

"Until hell freezes over," replied Andy with a grin.

Robin rolled her eyes at her friend. "It was a million and a half years ago. Let it go. Or are you afraid that if you got to know him, you might actually like him."

Andy glared at Robin as she tried to keep up her defenses when it came to how she felt about a certain dark haired keeper. "Hardly. Blackie and I are nothing more than teammates and friends by association. Nothing more and nothing less."

"Okay, but you never know. Lighting could strike," giggled Robin.

_'You have no idea.'_ thought Andy as she grabbed a hold of her towel and pulled off the rest of her dirty clothes. All the while she kept visualizing what would the feel of his hands on her hips and in her hair be like. The smell he gave off of spice and a spring rain. The taste of his lips on hers so soft yet firm at the same time. Holding a passion she had never known in her young life.

"Andy? Andy?" called a voice from the distance.

"Huh?" said Andy eloquently as she shook the thoughts from her head. She turned to see James standing just inside the looker room. "Oh, sorry James. Umm did you say something?"

"Umm...yeah." It was then that Andy noticed that James had his eyes shut tightly to give any girls that happened to be in there their privacy. Andy quickly put on a dry bathrobe over her wet t-shirt and shorts.

"James you can open your eyes," chuckled Andy. "Robin and Lindsay are in the showers and I'm still dressed."

"Oh, Good," sighed James as he opened his eyes. "Can I borrow your broom clippers? I left mine back at home."

"Sure. Here you go," she said handing over her broom clippers to her best friend.

"Thanks, Star."

"No problem. So why aren't you in the showers?"

"Oh only two of them really work. So I'm waiting for a free one."

"Ahh...and in the meantime, fix your broom?"

"You got it."

"So how does it feel being Head Boy?" she asked after an awkward spell.

"Good. A little..."

"Overwhelming?"

"Yeah, to say the least. I still don't know why Dumbledore picked me?" James chuckled. He was glad that he and Andy were back on speaking terms. He really did miss talking with her.

"Because you have the highest marks and you are a born leader," replied Andy as if the answer were obvious.

James couldn't help but roll his eyes and snort at her comment. "Yeah right."

"Yes, you are, and don't make me hex you for thinking else wise. James you deserve it."

"I don't know Andy."

"Wait a minute. I can't believe this. In the five years I've known you I have never seen you afraid of anything. Well...except McGonagall but that doesn't really count," she said playfully.

"I'm not afraid."

"Then what is it?"

"Nothing."

"It this about Lily, James?"

"I don't know how to act around her. There's just...I messed up big time."

"Oh it's not that bad, Jay. At least now she wants to talk to you," said Andy.

"Says the best friend," sighed James. He really needed to get away from her before he she talked him into doing something stupid. Like try and talk to Lily yet again after that little speech he had given her about a week and a half ago. "Listen I should get going before the girls come out. I'll talk to you later Andy. Thanks again for the clippers. I'll leave them in my locker if you need them back."

"Okay. See you later."

Andy knew that he had done something that now had Lily acting very odd as of lately. Unfortunately neither she nor James would talk about what exactly happened a week or so ago. Lily only mentioned that they were now on new grounds of sorts. Sort of a 'fresh start' as she called it. _'Yeah a fresh start that had neither of them speaking to one another. What did he do now?'_ thought Andy as she made her way to the showers.

"Hey what took you so long?" asked Robin as she was walking out of the shower with her robe on.

"Oh I got talking to James. Don't worry he left already."

"Oh darn. Now I can't make him blush."

"Sorry, maybe next time," laughed Andy as she grabbed a hold of her towel and headed for the showers to rid herself of the tiring thoughts of her friends' dramatic lives.

Once she was done getting the mud out of her hair, Andy made her way back to the now empty locker room. "Great, now homework time." she said to herself as she pulled on her light blue shirt. As she made to grab her broom, she noticed that a few of her brooms bristles had gone astray. "Shit! When did this happen?" she thought to herself. Andy opened her locker door to retrieve her broom clippers.

"Clippers. Clippers...are with Jay." she said the moment she realized why she couldn't find them. Andy left the girls locker room and headed down the other end of the hall to the boys locker room.

"Oi! Gents! Girl in the room! Anybody home?" shouted Andy from the doorway.

When she heard no reply she cautiously walked in to find the room empty as a bolt of lighting followed by a roll of thunder came about. As she got a bit closer to where the boys individual lockers, she could hear the sound of a shower running in the next room. "Hmm...one lonely soul left. James finally got to that shower. Now where did he put those clippers?" she remarked as she opened James's locker.

After a few moments of searching, she heard the water turn off. '_Oh great! Got to move before I see something that may scar me for life. Ah! Found them!' _she thought to herself as she discovered the silver clippers hidden on the top shelf next to a snitch.

As she pocketed the clippers, she closed the door and was suddenly startled by a tall presence next to her. "AH!! Oh Merlin! Sorry," said Andy as she quickly shut her eyes until she realized that the boy next to her wasn't James. "Sirius!"

"Sparky? What the hell are you doing here?" inquired Sirius as he tried to get the water out of his ear. It was then that Andy noticed exactly what he was wearing, or rather what he wasn't wearing. The soft fluffy white towel was wrapped securely around his waist, while a slightly smaller one was currently wrapped around his neck to collect the remaining water from his hair.

"Umm...uhh...uhh...clippers," stuttered Andy as she ripped her eyes away from Sirius's tone chest. From the moment she noticed him, her attention was suddenly drawn to a small water droplet as it started from the tip of his hair fall on his chest as it continued to roll slowly down the center slightly picking up speed with each passing droplet it picked up and continued to descend down to his well toned abs until it fell out of view behind the towel.

"Broom clippers," said Andy as she pulled out the tool from her pocket. "James borrowed mind and I realized I needed them back. So...now I have them and now I'm leaving." she said quickly as she turned on her heels and make a break for the door.

"Sparky wait, I need to talk to you," he said as he grabbed a hold of her arm before she was out of reach. Andy let out a small gasp and involuntarily closed her eyes.

"About what?" she asked in a hopefully normal tone.

"Our plan," said Sirius as if it were obvious.

"Umm...can't it wait," she asked as she realized that he hadn't let go of her arm yet and was rubbing her skin ever so slightly causing her to rapidly loose her composure.

"Well, I figured now would be a good time since everyone's left."

Andy blinked at his words before she felt a wave a panic rise throughout her body. "Left? Where's Jay?"

"He had a meeting with McGonagall and Dumbledore that he forgot about," he replied. Sirius watched Andy's reaction and wondered why she seemed so flustered all of a sudden.

"Oh."

"Are you okay? You seemed a little...flushed," Sirius smirked.

"I'm fine. Probably from eh s-steam," said Andy as she tried to draw in a calming breath. But it seemed the more she tried to regain her composure, the closer Sirius got to her.

"Are you sure?" he asked. Sirius was about to brush a strand of hair out of Andy's face but was beaten to it by Andy's own hand.

"Positive," she said with a small smile. "So what did you want to tell me about James and Lil?"

Sirius was about to continue with his thought until a chill ran down his spine. It was then that he realized he was still in a wet towel. "Umm..why don't you go and get your broom and I'll tell you when you return."

"Why can't you tell me now?" she said getting a little annoyed with him.

"Well…I'd prefer to do business with my pants on. Unless you'd like to seem me without a towel?" replied Sirius with a grin.

Andy looked at him up and down for a moment before raising eye brow. "Tempting...but I think I'll pass."

"Aww..." he pouted.

"I'll be back in a bit," she said as she practically ran out of the boy's locker room. Once she was safely back in the girl's locker room Andy tried to catch her breath all the while thinking _'Oh Merlin! I'm going to hell. What did I do in my past lives to deserve this type of torture?'_

Andy took a few deep breaths as she grabbed a hold of her packed bag. "Okay Starmenter, he's just a boy. You _do not_ have feelings for him. You are in love with...with...Tristan! You are in love with Tristan. You've seen guys without their shirts before. Blackie is no different. No different. Right."

After her little pep talk, Andy made her way back to the boys' locker room to find Sirius wearing only a pair of jeans while he sat on the bench clipping his toe nails.

"Oh gee, that's attractive," said Andy in her normal sarcastic tone. She quickly averted looking at him once his head shot up to look at her. She didn't know if she could take looking at his bare chest anymore.

"If you don't like it, then don't look," said Sirius in the same tone as he continued to clip his toe nails.

Andy fought the urge to roll her eyes as she took a seat on the bench and began to fix her broom. "So what did you want to talk about, Black?"

"Have you noticed James acting a bit unusual lately?"

"How so?" she asked, right when a piece of Sirius's nail hit her in the head. "Hey watch where you're firing those things."

"Sorry. I mean have you noticed him acting a bit more...I don't know. Withdrawn?"

"Well he has been a little busy lately. Plus with the shock of being named Head Boy, he's probably still trying to come to terms with having to be a proper student now," said Andy as she clipped away at her broom.

"I guess."

"That and trying to come to terms with his feelings for Lily while work with her isn't much help either. Plus he probably still feels bad especially after what happened on the train."

"Yeah. Still don't know how we're going to pull this off. I think we need to bring Remus and Karen into this sooner than we wanted," Sirius sighed as he rubbed his eyes in frustration.

"We could probably get Kelly involved too, but not Felicia."

"Agreed. Well now that that's taken care of," he started as he got up to grab his shirt from his locker.

"Blackie what is that?"

"What's what?" he asked.

"What is that on your back?" she asked. Andy had noticed something slightly pink on his back.

"It's...nothing," said Sirius quickly as he tried to pull on his green jumper, but stopped when he felt Andy's warm hand on his cool back.

"Sirius, what the hell happened to you?" she asked in a worried tone. Throughout his entire back were lines in various lengths and widths. It took her a moment to realize that they were scar lines as if someone had hit him with a bullwhip or another object.

"Something I wish to forget," said Sirius darkly. He was silent for a moment and Andy felt him go rigid as he tried to contain his anger and forget the past.

"You're parents did this to you. Didn't they?" she asked in a soft whisper when the realization hit her.

"Yes. They felt the need to purify me when they found out I associated with mudbloods and blood traitors."

As Sirius tried to rid himself of the horrible nightmares that plagued his memories, he suddenly became aware that Andy hadn't removed her hand. Instead, he could feel her warm soft touch trace the old scars. He silently wondered if her touch would magically rid him of the physical scars as she had with his mental ones.

Andy couldn't help but be mesmerized by what was before her. She knew from stories told by James and some by Remus that the boy before her had a rough childhood. But she never figured that it would be this extreme. She couldn't help but touch the faded lines in hopes of...something. She then became aware of his breathing. How he seemed to be taking deep raged breaths as she touched his skin...so soft to the touch. It was then she also realized that she was breathing has hard as he.

"Those…."she tried to say but couldn't.

"Yeah. I know. That's why I left," he whispered torn between wanting to turn around and face her and wanting to know the taste of her lips. But for right now, his feet felt frozen in place while he felt Andy's soft touch slowly run the over his deep scars. A small chill rose up his spine when he felt a faint puff of air near his neck.

Finally getting a grip on reality, Sirius slowly turned around and was confronted with a very tempted looking Andy. But mixed in with her beauty he saw sadness and something else he couldn't place.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she looked up into his grey eyes.

"It's not your fault," he said in a low voice as he gently pushed that strand of hair that didn't want to stay in place. _'She should really pin that in place.'_

The tension between them continued to rise as the two unconsciously began to drift closer to one another. The sound of the rain falling outside was the only noise either of them could hear other than their breathing patterns. Right as Sirius thought he couldn't take it anymore, an earsplitting crack of lighting thundered outside causing them to break out of the trance each was in. Andy jumped a bit when she realized the state they were both in. She took a step back and turned back to her broom, allowing Sirius the time to put his shirt back on and for them to regain their composure.

"I think we should head back to the castle," said Andy quickly.

"You're probably right. I'll catch up with you in a little bit," said Sirius as he looked into his locker.

"You're not coming?"

"I need to do something before I head back to the tower," he said with his back still turned to her.

Andy felt a little hurt and confused at his sudden mood swing. "Oh. Okay. I guess…then…I'll see you back in the tower."

Sirius watched out of the corner of his eye as she pulled on her cloak and walked out of the locker room with her broom. Once he knew she was way, he sat back down with his head hanging trying to control his erratic breathing. As he took several deep breaths to try to calm himself down, visions of a blond haired witch flooded his mind. Her eyes…her laugh…her smile…her lips…

"Get a hold of yourself, Sirius" he said aloud to himself as he slapped himself in the face. "You can't have her. She belongs to someone else. You waited too long. You lost. Quit trying to steal her away. It's not right for her. She deserves better than you. She deserves better."

* * *

"Whoa! Wait a minute," said Kelly "You mean to tell us that the two of you have been secretly plotting to get James and Lily together?"

Along with Kelly, Karen and Remus looked upon Sirius and Andy with bewilderment. The three of them could not believe that they were even having this conversation. They just figured that Sirius and Andy wanted to talk about something other than this in the privacy of an abandoned classroom.

All Andy could do was nod at her friend while Sirius continued to lean up against the wall as he listened to their story.

"That's why you've been more secretive than normal? And always having to go to some late night meeting?" asked Karen. Andy nodded once again.

"Hmm…and I just thought you were in a broom closet taking advantage of some girl," commented Kelly as she glared over at Sirius.

"Hey, I've never taken advantage of any bird that wasn't willing," said Sirius in defense.

Andy glared at Sirius before she continued on. "Anyway enough about Blackie's escapades, so what do you three think?"

"I think you've both lost your bloody minds," snorted Kelly as she tried to process everything.

"Are you insane, Andy?" asked Karen. "Do you know what Lily would do to you if she ever found out about this?"

"Which is why she never will if you know what's good for you," said Andy with a slight grin.

"Easy there Sparky. Don't flex your claws at your friends. It's rude you know," said Sirius in a low voice as he stood behind Andy.

Andy spun around and hit Sirius's chest with the back of her hand for invading her personal space. "Shut up Blackie."

"This is never going to work out," sighed Karen.

"Actually I think it's a great idea," commented Remus for the first time since they arrived.

"Huh?" said Andy with raised eyebrows.

"Thank you Remus," said Sirius proudly.

"Rem, are you actually agreeing to go along with this idea?" asked Karen as she started up at him.

"Sure," he said with a shrug. "Why not? It's not like it's a bad thing."

"It's a very bad thing," roared Kelly.

"How so?" he challenged. "It isn't like they both hate each other. Lily and James have both expressed interest in one another, but both are too stubborn to realize it and admit it to themselves and each other. I think what Andy and Sirius are doing is a great idea, and I'm behind them."

He looked to the two of them before speaking again. "What ever help I can offer it's yours."

"Thanks mate," commented Sirius as he shook his friend's shoulder.

"I guess he does make a point," said Karen in a low voice.

"KAREN!" squealed Kelly.

"Well it's true. Come on Kelly. We are all tired of the James/Lily sparing back and forth games. It's about time they ended once and for all. Besides what is the worst that could happen? Hate each other? Been there, and done that already," stated Karen.

"Okay. Okay. I see your point," sighed Kelly knowing that she was out numbered. "Fine. I'll help plan. But that's it. I don't want to be on the receiving end of one of Lily's curses."

"Oh don't worry Kel. I'll protect you," said Sirius as he wrapped his arm around Kelly's shoulders.

"Yeah?" Kelly sneered. "And who's going to protect you Black since you'll be hanging up side down from the rafters in a chicken costume singing 'I Love Severus Snape' at the top of your lungs."

Once Kelly had walked away from Sirius he leaned over to whisper in Andy's ear. "Can she really do that?"

Andy replied with a mere shrug of her shoulders not wanting to divulge the fact that Lily could pull something like that off or something far worse.

"Okay, so the three of you are in on this?" asked Andy looking at her friends.

All three replied with a yes.

"Good. So we are also in agreement to do this with mentioning anything to Felicia and Peter?" she asked.

"Why can't we tell Felicia?" asked Remus. "I know Wormtail can't hold water."

"Because if she found out then she would go running off to tell Lily," answered Kelly. "She's still tick at James's antics on the train. Plus any chance she can get to foil one of Sirius's plans is just icing on the cake."

"She's still upset over him breaking up with her?" asked Remus.

"It's not so much that she's upset," said Karen.

"More like Felicia wants him to pay for wasting her time…with his life if that were an option," said Andy.

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. Okay, so what exactly have you done thus far to get Lil and Potter together?" said Kelly.

"Well…."

* * *

By the end of the week, Lily was exhausted with classes and her duties as head girl. Luckily after this last meeting, and one more day of classes she could relax for at least a little while.

"Hello Ms. Evans," said a voice from behind her as she came up to the classroom the prefect meeting was going to be held in.

She turned to find James standing behind her with his school bag. She looked down at her watch and saw that he had arrived just a few minutes before she said too.

"Hello Potter," she said softly.

"Ready for this meeting?" he said gently as he opened the door and walked in. Lily was still a bit stunned by his actions since that afternoon. Still he would hardly look at her or say more than what needed to be said. It was starting to really bug her.

"I suppose so. It shouldn't take that long," she started but stopped by the other students arriving.

As the prefects filed in and took their seats, James pulled out his wand and quickly wrote out the agenda on the chalkboard with it. Once everyone was in the meeting began.

"Hello everyone. I'm glad you could make it. This won't take long, so…let's get started," said Lily. "Our first trip to Hogsmeade will be the Saturday before Halloween. So please inform all third years and up about the rules. You can place these flyers on the bulletin boards in your common rooms. Secondly…"

_**BANG!**_

The loud noise caused everyone to jump as they looked around to one another wondering what had caused such an explosion from the hallway.

"What was that?" said a random student.

Lily looked over at James but was surprised by the shocked look on his face.

"Don't look at me. I didn't do anything," said James as he headed toward the door. From the hallway the head boy, girl, and all the prefects could hear someone yelling in the hallway.

"Merlin's beard! I can't believe you Black!" roared the voice of Andy.

"Oh put a sock in it Sparky! It's your fault anyway," yelled Sirius.

"My fault?! You slimy backstabbing prat of…"

"Are you ever going to come up with a new line there Sparky? Because these ones are getting a tad bit old for you."

Lily rolled her eyes as she followed James out into the hallway. At the end of the hallway, Andy and Sirius were in yet another one of their shouting matches. Behind James and Lily the rest of the students followed them down the hall to confront the duo.

"Excuse me, please," said James as he moved past the some other students who had come out to investigate the explosion. He walked up toward his two friends as he rubbed his eyes from exhaustion.

"_What_ is going on now," he asked causing the two of them to be silent for a moment.

"Do those two really need a reason to fight?" commented a prefect from the group behind James and Lily.

Just then another student walked up behind the group. "What's going on here?"

"Black and Starmenter are at it again," said a Hufflepuff prefect as she tried to get a view of the fight.

"Really?" questioned the voice highly amused.

"Yes. You act like it's a big surprise," said the Hufflepuff. She then turned around to get a look at whom she was speaking to and was shocked to come face to face with that of Sirius Black.

"Stay out of this Lil," said Andy as she glared at Sirius.

"Mind your business, Prongs," growled Sirius.

"What is going on with you two now? You'd think by now the two of you would know how to control your tempers and act your age," said James in a booming voice.

"This does not concern the both of you or anyone for that matter. Just leave me another with the little princess so I can teach her a lesson," Sirius sneered.

"Like you could teach me anything," spat Andy.

At that moment they lot of them heard someone running down the corridor from the other hall that led to where they were now.

"Crap! Crap! Crap! I'm late!" a blond haired student huffed as she turned the corner came across the crowd of students. Several prefects gasped when the caught sight of another Andy. "Whoa! What the hell is going on here? Did I forget there was some sort of costume party or something?"

James and Lily turned from one Andy to the other trying to come up with a logical explanation.

"Andy?" questioned James.

"Yes," replied both girls. The two girls looked at one another up and down.

"Okay what is going on here?" asked the Andy that had just arrived. "Blackie?"

"I'd like to know that too, Sparky," said the Sirius from the crowd of students. Everyone looked at the two set of foes and wondered what dark magic was occurring.

"Okay, what is going on here," asked Lily trying to regain order.

"I don't know but someone is obviously playing a prank here," said the Sirius from the crowd as he walked up to the other Sirius and examined him.

"Yeah, you two are," the other Sirius sneered.

"Hardly," said the Andy that just arrived.

"Right," laughed the first Andy everyone had first come across. "Like the real Andy would wear those shoes with that skirt."

"Its standard issue you fraud. But what is to be expected from someone who has their hair colored like that," barked the second Andy. "Besides I know that this one here," pointing to the first Sirius, "is definitely not the real Black."

"How do you know that," questioned James.

Before anyone could blink, the first Sirius was now hanging upside down spinning like a top.

"Because the real Black would have known I would try something like that and blocked it with ease," commented the second Andy as she released her spell on the fake Sirius and put back on the ground.

Everyone started at the duo that had caused the argument.

"So if that's the case," started James. "Then who are you two really?"

The fake Andy and Sirius looked at one another before they answered.

"That's for us to know," said the fake Sirius.

"And you two to never find out," laughed the fake Andy. At that moment she pulled out a vile from her robes and threw it to the ground causing the entire hallway to full with smoke in a flash.

Once the smoke had cleared, both of the impostures were gone.

"What was that about?" coughed James.

"No clue," coughed the real Sirius.

"Probably just some kids testing out a polyjuice potion or something like that," said Andy as she waved away some smoke.

"Great," sighed Lily. "New wannabe Marauders. Wonderful!"

"What can we say? We set the standards," Sirius chuckled.

"Right Padfoot," laughed James. It was then that he noticed the crowd was still looming around. "Okay everyone, meeting is over until we get this straightened out. Go back to your houses now."

Within a few moments the crowd had dispersed leaving only Lily, Andy, James, and Sirius in the hallway.

"So…which one of you guys paid off some dumb kid to take a potion," questioned James.

"Don't look at me," said Andy holding her hands up in surrender. "I've been clean for months."

The three of them then looked over at Sirius. "Oh sure blame the head boy's best mate!"

"And partner in crime," added Andy.

"Well obviously it has to be someone close to the both of you," said Lily before an argument between the two of them could start. "Otherwise how else would they get what they need to make the potion?"

"Well with Blackie's promiscuous behavior, that could be anyone," said Andy offhanded.

"I wouldn't talk if I were you, Sparky," glared Sirius.

"I'm sorry, which one of us has had a stable relationship for almost a year now?"

"Okay! Enough," said James feeling a headache coming on more and more as time went by. "Look it was probably just some kids trying to make a statement and claim prank rights. Let's just wait to see if anything else happens. It was probably just a one time deal."

"Fine, whatever," said Andy as she turned to walk away from them. "Since the meeting is over I'll just be heading off then."

"Sounds good to me. I'll see you back in the common room Prongs," said Sirius as he went in the opposite direction of Andy.

James shook his head before turning and facing Lily.

"Potter I don't think…"

"Don't worry Evans. The guys and I will look in to it. There will be no trouble this year. I promised," he said looking into her green eyes.

"Okay. I'll let you do it your way for now. But if this goes on…" said Lily.

"I'll tell McGonagall and Dumbledore myself. Don't worry," he said placing a hand on her shoulder. With that he walked away leaving her standing in the hall alone with her thoughts. Lily couldn't help but run a hand along where James's warm touch had sent a spark coursing throughout her body.

* * *

A half hour later, two figures were running down the steps toward the dungeons of the castle.

"Come on! Hurry up," whispered Sirius.

"Oh would you slow down, Black! It's not like they are going to leave yet," barked Andy as she checked to make sure they weren't followed.

As the two of them made their way to the depths of the castle, they entered a room just off the east stair case. Once they were inside they locked the door and came face to face with their accomplices.

"So…how did it go?" asked Remus with a smirk on his face as he continued to sir the polyjuice potion.

"Urgh, I'm never doing that again!" said Karen as she fixed her hair. "That stuff tasted worse than my great aunt Mildred's cooking."

"Yeah," shuttered Kelly as she came from behind a set up curtain. "Next time get Remus to play the part of Black. I got slapped by five girls on my way down here. Three of which were on me bum!"

"Hey I never said there wasn't a price to being Sirius Black," commented Sirius with a grin.

"Oh grow up, would you? Did they at least buy it?"

"So far so good," said Andy as she hopped up onto the bench next to Remus.

"I still don't see how a mystery will put them together," commented Remus as he played with the potion a bit.

"Watch and learn boys," commented Karen as she walked over to Remus. "If there is one thing that appeals to Lily it's a guy who knows how to take charge and show authority."

"Especially a reformed bad boy," added Andy.

Sirius chuckled softly while shaking his head at the girls. "And you birds think guys are sick."

* * *

**A/N~** There you go a nice long chapter. Sorry it took so long to update. Life has been a bit more busy than usual. I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner. Until then, thanks to all my loyal readers for staying with story for so long. As for my new readers, I hope you enjoyed the story thus far.

Okay now…you know the drill flames, praises, comments, or threats…whatever you feel like saying just put it in a review. It's good for my ego…ha-ha.


	43. Masquerade

**Chapter 43: Masquerade**

**Days in Avalon**

For the next few days all was quiet among the new alliance. James and Lily kept an eye out for any strange appearances among the students but found nothing. For the most part everyone thought it was a good idea to lay low for a few more days to not arouse suspicion among the professors. That is until about a week after the initial incident.

"Hey there, Sparky," said Sirius as he sat down next to the blond at breakfast one Monday morning.

She glanced up from her Dark Arts book and knew whatever was on his mind, was not going to be pretty.

"What do you want Black?" she asked dryly.

"Oh, nothing really," he said nonchalantly while pouring a glass of orange juice. "Just a few strands of blond hair, that's all."

Andy slightly snorted at his comment. "Take your pick. There are quite a few blonds at this school."

"Yes, but none of them have that perfect shade like yours," he said sweetly.

Andy stopped reading her book and turned quickly to look at him properly. It was then that she realized just how close he was to her and involuntarily scooted down a bit from him. "What are you getting at Blackie?"

"I've got an idea and I need your assistance," he said in a low voice.

Andy raised her eyebrows at his request before answering him in the same tone. "Why do you need more of my hair? Kelly has a enough for quite a few more transformations."

Sirius looked around for a split second to make sure no one was looking at them or eaves dropping. "True. But I don't."

"Excuse me?" she responded with confusion written all over her face.

Sirius sighed deeply. "Look, just hold still."

"Get your hands away from my head!" Andy barked as she swatted Sirius's hands away.

"Sparky, come on!" he said as he tried again.

"Knock it off Black or I'll turn you into a tea cup," she growled. It was then that Sirius realized her far hand had dived into her robes and was now jamming her wand into his stomach. Slowly he back away before letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Now why do you need them?" she said darkly. "What is so important that you just can't tell Kelly?"

"It's something that I know she won't do and you would only do it if you get something out of it," he said.

"What? Butter up to Slughorn to sneak into his secret stash?" said Andy as she refilled her cup off coffee.

"Close," he said with a slightly disgusted look upon his face. "Right idea, just wrong target."

Andy looked at him as his gazed traveled across the room. She followed it over towards the Slytherin table where a student with grease hair was reading and taking notes.

"Snape?!" squeaked Andy. "Oh hell no!"

"Come on, Starmenter," said Sirius while rolling his eyes.

"Over my dead body," she growled. "There is no way I'd ever sink to those depths real or fake."

"That's why I'm going to do it," he sighed deeply.

Andy then gave him a cynical look. "You? Seduce Snivellus? Please. With your temper, I wouldn't be surprised if you put in hospital for a week."

"Hey I can control my temper when I need too."

"Blackie you pushed him down a flight of stone steps yesterday for walking too slow," she said before taking a sip of her drink.

"Well…"

"My point exactly. Besides why do you need to get close to him anyway?" asked Andy out of curiosity.

"Pomes," Sirius replied simply.

"Huh?"

"You heard me," he said before taking a bite out of a roll.

Andy stared at him for a moment before shaking her head in confusion. "Wait a minute. Let me get this straight. You want my hair for a polyjuice potion, to transform yourself into me for the purpose of seducing your arch enemy; risking not only our entire plan not to mention dragging my name through the mud, all for a couple of poems?"

"Pretty much, yeah," said Sirius as he grabbed for the plate of eggs that had just appeared. A second later he felt a sharp blow to the back of his head.

"OW!" he said while rubbing where Andy had slapped him.

"I'd kill but there are too many witness around," said Andy. With that, she got up from her seat and headed out of the Great Hall.

It took Sirius about a minute to catch up with her and jump in front of her path. "Here me out, Sparky," he said with his hands raised.

"I feel a headache coming on," she said as she side stepped him and began walking again.

"These poems could work in Prong's favor," said Sirius trying to convince her. Andy stopped in her tracks once again and leaned against the stone wall while gazing at Sirius.

"What is so special about some dumb pomes of Snivellus's?" she asked, not really seeing the point.

"They're about Lily," said Sirius as if it were obvious.

"What?"

"Oh, like you didn't know Snivellus has a crush on our Lily flower?" said Sirius while folding his arms.

"I'm aware of it," growled Andy. She remembered back when they were in third year seeing them together in dark hallways. It was one of the many issues that caused the two of them to stop talking for a few months back then.

"Well I bet you didn't know that even though they aren't on speaking terms any more, Severus has still been writing love poems about her and wishing she would forgive him," said Sirius with a smirk.

"So what? The little prick messed up! It's not like…"rambled Andy until a light bulb went on in her head.

Sirius saw that she had caught on to his plan and nodded his head in encouragement.

"Oh, wait you want…oh no. Nah uh. Dream on Blackie," laughed Andy.

"What?" asked a confused Sirius.

"I'm not letting you steal Snape's creep forlorn sonnets and pass them off as James's work," said Andy with authority.

Sirius stopped for a moment and thought of something quickly. "We could use them to make Prongs jealous?"

"No Black! Geez and you wanted me to help you? You must be nuts," she said rolling her eyes.

"Oh what? It's not like it's hard to pretend to be you," sneered Sirius.

"Black, with my luck you'd make me out to be a two-bit tramp, and ruin my relationship with Tristan along with it," growled Andy.

"Not a bad idea," said Sirius under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Sirius sighed. "I would never do such a thing to ruin your image."

"Right," said Andy with a raised eyebrow. "Whatever. Come on, we'd better hurry or we'll be late for Dark Arts."

"Oh goodie," said Sirius darkly. "More boring lectures."

Andy merely rolled her eyes before pushing him along and walking down the hallway toward a short cut to the Dark Arts room.

After taking about ten steps, Lily, Felicia, and Kelly came up from behind her. Andy could hear the distinctive jingle of the charm on Lily's bag that she had given her a few years prior.

"Hi Lil," said Andy as she stopped for her friends.

"Hello Andy," said Lily giving her a skeptical look while watching Sirius continue down the hallway toward class.

Andy followed Lily's eye sight before turning back toward her friends, who were now giving her the slight death stare. "What?"

"Is the war over?" spat Felicia.

"Excuse me?" inquired Andy completely lost.

"You and Black," growled Felicia. "The two of you practically shared an entire meal together and you didn't try to kill him."

"Contrary to what people may think, I can sit next to the playboy and not inflict harm on him. Of course I did slap him upside the head," said Andy.

"What Felicia is trying to say," Lily started, "is whatever you two where talking about…it looked pretty heated."

"We were talking business," said Andy honestly.

"Business?" asked Kelly with a raised eyebrow. She saw Andy look directly at her and nod, silently answering her true question.

"Quidditch business," said Andy smoothly.

"Oh…right," said Kelly. Felicia merely rolled her eyes while scoffing at her friends.

Andy didn't say anything but continued to walk down the hall with her friends. It wasn't until they reached the secret tunnel to the Dark Arts classroom that Andy noticed the look on Lily's face.

"What now?" Andy groaned.

"Nothing," Lily said simply. A second later Andy's arm slammed against the cold stone wall blocking her path.

"Spit it out Evans," Andy barked. It wasn't even eight in the morning yet, and already she had the beginning stages of a major headache starting. "You know I hate it when people start something and never finish it."

"Well…" said Lily calmly trying to find the right words. "if what was going on between you and Black was Quidditch business, I'd hate to see what would happen if the topic was not sports related."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Andy asked with raised eyebrows.

"She's talking about the fact that lately Black can't stop staring at you," said Kelly.

"Excuse me?" said a somewhat flabbergasted Andy.

"Oh come on Miranda! You know he's been checking you out more and more with each passing day," said an irate Felicia.

Andy shook her head to rid herself of the initial shock of Felicia's tone. "Right. Okay. I think the lot of you need to stop reading those stupid trashy romance novels."

"Andy," started Lily.

"Come on," laughed Andy at how ridiculous her friends were acting. "Sirius Black interested in me? Please."

With that Andy continued to chuckle lightly as she walked past her friends and continued on to class. But deep down a part of her hoped that she was only slightly wrong.

"I told you not to say anything," said Kelly as she watched Andy walk away.

"Hey it's best to warn her now then before something bad happens," said Felicia as she brushed a strand of hair out the way.

"She's with Tristan," said Lily trying to put the idea to rest. "There is no way she'd ever fall for Black."

"Maybe," said Felicia after a moment. "But that doesn't mean he's not going to try to do something. To him Andy is the one person he's never been able to charm which makes her the most unobtainable."

Lily shook her head at Felicia's words. "I think Andy is right in thinking that you are reading way too much into this whole mess."

As the students arrived at class, their new Dark Arts professor scheduled for them to have a practical lesson that day. The class was set up into a tournament in which the students would be dueling each other in order for the professor to get a better understanding as to how far along the class was.

By the end of the class the period there was a three way tie for first place belonging to Remus Lupin, Miranda Starmenter, and Severus Snape.

As she was gathering her things she felt someone come up behind her. Although normally she hated when people snuck up behind her, this time however a wave of comfort washed over her.

"Congrats there Sparky," said Sirius in a low tone right by her ear.

"Thanks Blackie," said Andy as she turned to look into his grey eyes. "You weren't half bad yourself."

Sirius slightly chuckled at her response before responding. "Too bad our match was a draw."

Andy knew that the purpose of this small talk was to buy some time while there were still some students hanging around. "I guess all those years of practicing on each other took all the fun out of it."

"Possibly," said Sirius as he watched the last person leave the classroom. "Okay…anyway. I've come up with a new idea."

Andy let out a loud groan while she rubbed the side of her head. She dropped her bag and jumped up onto her desk to hear what Sirius had to say now. Karen quickly jumped up next to her, while Kelly and Remus stood next to them.

"All right, we're listening," said Remus.

"Not here," said Sirius. He then motioned for them to follow his lead. The four of them looked at each other before following his path. Within a matter of minutes the five of them were now standing in the middle of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Okay. So what's the big secret," asked Kelly sarcastically.

Sirius let a small smirk come across his face before he answered. "We're going to seduce James."

"Excuse me?" said Karen with a laugh. She looked to Andy who shook her head while continuing to rub her one temple.

"That's the big plan? Get real Black," said Kelly.

"Well actually it will be Lily seducing him," said Sirius.

"And just how is Lily going to do that?" inquired Remus. It was then that Sirius pulled out a long strand of red hair from inside of his robes.

"Oh no! Forget it, Black," laughed Kelly. "I'm not hitting on Potter."

"Don't worry, you're not," said Sirius while looking directly at Andy. It took her a moment to realize the room had gone quiet and that he along with her other friends were now gazing at her.

"Me? Why me?" said Andy pointing at her chest.

"Because out of the lot of us, you can the play the part of Lily perfectly," said Sirius as if the answer were obvious. "Plus with your experience in appealing to the young men of Hogwarts."

"Oh please," said Andy while rolling her eyes trying very hard not to gag.

"And there's also the fact that you dated Prongs," said Sirius with a slight grimace.

"Yeah, about a million years ago! And if you remember, the reason why we broke up is because he's more like a brother to me than a boyfriend," yelled Andy.

"Oh come off it," said Sirius getting tired of Andy's stonewalling. "It's not like I'm telling you to sleep with him."

"Oh would you two please! I'll do it," roared Kelly. She stormed past Sirius toward the stall where they were storing the polyjuice potion they had brewed.

"Actually I was going to have you be Andy," said Sirius.

"No! Now come on," barked Kelly while she slammed the door open with a loud bang. But upon looking into the stall she found something amiss. "Ummm…."

"What is it, Kelly?" Andy asked.

"The potion," she answered while looking at a loss.

"What about it?" Remus asked, as Sirius came up behind Kelly.

"It's gone!" Sirius remarked.

"What?" Andy yelled.

"Impossible," Karen replied as the rest of them went to investigate. Sure enough the cauldron of potion that Remus had placed over the toilet was gone.

"There was a whole cauldron full when I checked on it last night," said Remus, trying to figure out what could have happened.

"Well…" said Sirius with a deep sigh. "Looks like we'll need to be on the look out for some imposters."

"You don't think anyone from Slytherin got a hold of it? Do you?" Karen asked in a low voice.

"I hope not. But if they did…"said Andy not wanting to even think of the consequences of that idea.


	44. Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Forty-Four: Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon**

Nearly a week had gone by since the potion had gone missing. Everyone involved had their ear to the crowds of Hogwarts trying to see if anyone would slip into revealing themselves as the culprits. Sirius especially took an interest in the Slytherins, convinced that they were involved.

There had been numerous times in which the new found pack of friends had to stop Sirius from attacking one of them.

"Would you knock it off Blackie?" Andy barked practically every time. This time, she practically had to knock him to the ground to keep him from attacking Snape and his friends.

"It's not Snape or any of them. If it were, they would have used it by now or would have sent some sort of blackmail to us."

"You give them too much credit! Maybe that's what they want us to think?" said Sirius with a mad glint in his eyes.

"You're paranoid Black," said Kelly as she shook her head. She looked to Remus and Karen for help. Both of them nodded in agreement.

"Come on mate. Don't loose it. You know if the Slytherins stole the…you know what…Dolohov would have said something. You know he can't hold water," said Remus.

Sirius let out a growl in frustration, as he ran his hands through his hair. "I wish you'd just let me handle this my way."

"Black if we let you have your way, then Snape, Dolohov, and whole cast of other Slytherins would be taking residence in the hospital wing. Not to mention the fact that you'd be expelled and possibly thrown into Azkaban," said Andy with her arms crossed.

Sirius glared at her in the dark hallway just as the warning bell sounded.

"Come on, or we'll all be late for Flitwick's class," said Karen as she tugged on Remus's arm.

As the five of them walked down the hall toward their class, a small chuckle could be heard in the darkness as a pair of hazel eyes watched them retreat.

By the time Friday rolled around all was fairly quiet throughout the school. Many of the students had turned in early since tomorrow was a Hogsmeade weekend. But as for the Head Boy and Girl, they were not so fortunate.

James and Lily sat in their common room going over plans that McGonagall and several other professors had suggested for the anniversary ball they were required to plan.

"Geez, you'd think she saw trying to relive her youth or something," said James in disgust as he tossed McGonagall's roll off to the side.

Lily couldn't help but giggle at the face he was currently making or about how she had thought of the exact same thing. "She's just wants the ball to be prefect."

James shot her a wry look. "Formal dancing for the entire ball? Come on Evans, we're not in the Middle Ages."

"You do have a point," Lily replied after a moment of consideration. A second later a vision of the entire student body awkwardly dancing to the music usually found in Victorian period films captured her thoughts. "I could just see some of them trying to waltz their way through the night."

"Yeah the party would be over right after dinner," huffed James as he rubbed his tired eyes causing his glasses to go askew. Lily glanced over and found the simple act enduring but quickly dismissed her thoughts.

"Okay, how about one waltz. This is an anniversary ball, and the waltz was performed in the past dances," Lily compromised. She knew that McGonagall and the rest of the professors would want some formal dancing involved otherwise they might be forced to cancel the whole deal.

"Fine," said James in agreement. He picked up yet another pile of ideas that one of the professors had submitted to them when he suddenly felt as if he were being watched. He glanced up and saw Lily staring at him with a bit of a smirk gracing her pink lips. "What's wrong?"

Lily shook her head second guessing herself. "Nothing."

"Come on Evans. I know there is something on your mind," James said as he tossed the pile of papers back onto the table.

"Well I was just thinking that this is actually kind of fun," she said with a bit of a shrug.

"Fun?"

"Planning the ball I mean…," clarified Lily, "with you."

James was shocked by her statement. But seeing the slight blush grace her brought back old urges he was trying hard to disband. "Oh! Yeah…I guess it has been a little fun."

Lily could feel the air between them turn to awkwardness and tried to play off her comment as nothing. "At least it's a distraction from school and the mysterious clones of Hogwarts."

"Yeah," chuckled James thankful that she was the one to change the subject. "Luckily though, one of those problems doesn't exist anymore."

"Excuse me?" Lily said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yeah…sorry. I sort of forgot to tell you," James stuttered. "I kind of found out who was behind the polyjuice potion."

"What?" Lily cried as she too dropped her paper work and gave him her full attention. "When and Who?"

"I discovered about a week or so ago," he said with a shrug as he scratched the back of his head. Lily could tell that he was stalling, but was unsure as to why. What wasn't he telling her?

"Who was it Potter?" she asked in a low voice.

James let out a deep breath as he contemplated on his answer. He wasn't sure how she would react to the truth, but knew if he lied to her she'd know right then and there.

"Your best friend," he said as he braced himself for her reaction.

Lily shook her head as his words sunk in. "Andy?"

She watched him nod slowly before continuing on. "And Sirius. Along with Remus, Karen, and Kelly."

Lily couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Why would they make a polyjuice potion and go around school impersonating others?"

"I'm not sure you'd want to know why," James said as he scratched the back of his head nervously causing his hair to stick out even more.

"If I didn't ask then I wouldn't want to know," huffed Lily wondering why he was being so secretive all of a sudden.

"Well…" James started as he got up from his seat "have you noticed some strange behavior among our two best friends?"

"Sirius and Andy? Sort of," Lily answered as she thought about the two of them "They haven't been as hostile toward each other as of late. They've become more civil."

"Almost as if they were friends?" questioned James, hoping this would spark some idea.

Lily thought for a moment and knew he was right. Andy and Sirius had grown close to one another. Almost too close, when they vowed to be sworn enemies until the end of their days. Close enough that could only mean one thing to those that knew them as well as Lily and James did…they were up to something sinister. "What are you getting at Potter?"

Lily watched as James let out another deep breath as he tried to find the right words to say. "The two of them have been exploring the field of matchmaking and have been experimenting on two people."

"Who?" she asked out of curiosity.

James was really hoping she wouldn't have asked that question. But he knew the truth would come out eventually. "Us."

Lily blinked for a few moments as she digested his words. "Excuse me?"

"Andy and Padfoot have been trying to get us together and they've enlisted the others for help," James said with a bit a chuckle. He found humor in hearing himself say it out loud to Lily. He knew the idea was preposterous after everything that had happened between them, but still it was comical.

"How long has this been going on?" Lily inquired

"I don't know," James shrugged. "Probably since sometime last year. That's when I first noticed the two of them getting 'cozy'."

"Are you sure?" Lily knew the idea was possible, but she didn't want to believe her best friend could be so…manipulative.

James nodded at her question before continuing on. "I over heard Karen and Kelly talking one night when I was sneaking down to the kitchens. They even mentioned where the potion was."

"Where?"

"In a girl's bathroom that's out of order. Ummm…" James said as he tried to remember the name of the ghost Andy had mentioned.

"Moaning Myrtles' bathroom?" Lily stated.

"That's it! I went there the next day and sure enough there was a cauldron full in one of the stales," James said as he walked back toward Lily. He watched her as she stood up suddenly with a bewildered look upon her face. She walked around the room a bit thinking about how Andy had been acting in recent events and how her other two friends had seemed to be acting odd as well.

"I can't believe they would do such a thing!" She exclaimed trying to wrap her brain around the idea.

"Evans we're talking about two of the most conniving minds this school has seen in years," James chuckled as he thought the idea wasn't too farfetched.

"Oh when I get my hands on them…" Lily growled as her temper flared slightly.

"You'll do nothing," James said in a matter a fact tone. He placed his hands on Lily's shoulders to stop her from moving and so she would have his attention as he continued. "They didn't harm anyone or anything. There is no need to go all mental on them."

"I would not go 'mental' on them," Lily responded under her breath.

"Really? Is that so?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lily looked up into his hazel eyes that she didn't realize how close they actually were and answered him definitely. "Absolutely."

"Oh come on!" James laughed at her actions. "If you were in her shoes wouldn't want your two friends to get along?" He asked as if the answer were obvious.

Lily knew that there was some truth to his words but was still upset over her friends' actions. "That doesn't give them the right to manipulate people's lives."

"I knew I should have kept my mouth shut," James said as he looked up to the ceiling for some sort of help. He then took a deep breath, trying to keep his frustration in check. "Don't worry about it Evans. I got rid of the potion anyway, so they know someone knows of their little scheme. I figured I'd let them sweat it out a bit over who could have done it, and better yet what could happen."

Lily gaped at his words as they began to sink in. She watched him reclaim his seat on the sofa they had been at when this whole conversation started. After a moment she found her voice once again. "That…actually…is not a bad idea."

James looked up at her as she caught on to his idea of punishment. If their greatest weapon had suddenly gone missing in a place like Hogwarts where anyone could have found it, the possibilities were endless. James knew that the lot of them were about ready to crack with worry after witnessing their actions over the past week. "I figured that would be the best form of punishment."

He knew that he'd have to put an end to his little form of torture soon; Especially after what almost happened the other day with Sirius. It took him a moment to notice that Lily had gone quiet and looked up at her angelic face. He saw look of admiration along with something else shinning through the bright emerald eyes he was so fond of. "What now?" he asked.

"I was wrong," she said after a moment.

James gave her a puzzled look upon hearing her statement. "Sorry?"

"I was wrong…about you. The headmaster was right. You do make a fine Head Boy," Lily said softly as a small smile graced her face.

James couldn't help the all too familiar fluttering feeling in the pit of his stomach every time he saw Lily smile. He knew deep down there could never be anything between them like he had once dreamed about. But maybe this was the beginning of mending some of those bridges or fences that muggles are so fond of mentioning.

"Don't worry. I won't let it go to my head," he said with a chuckle before picking up the notes Lily had been looking at before.

"So…about this whole menu thing…" he said after a moment eager to change the subject.

**

The rest of the week passed on with uneventful drama. This of course was not helpful for those on edge already. The fact that there was no talk or better yet, no other imposters running around the school was racking on everyone's nerves. For the rest of the weekend Remus, Andy, Kelly, Sirius, and Karen decided to spend some time apart from one another since they were beginning to drive each other crazy. Remus continued to keep an eye on Sirius to make sure he didn't seek revenge on anyone, which now seemed to become his least favorite pastime.

As for James, he never found anything more hilarious in all his life. However once Lily had found out and saw what this was actually doing to her best friends, she asked James to put a stop to this. Eventually James caved and told her that he'd inform them all on Monday, but for now at least let them fret over the weekend just a bit more.

On Sunday, Andy was eager to get away from the castle and her friends and enjoy a day of shopping in Hogsmeade. Though she did love her friends, time away from them was sometimes a necessity to keep her from going insane.

After a few hours of shopping and grabbing a quick bite to eat from The Three Broomsticks, Andy still wasn't ready to head back to Hogwarts just yet. She wandered aimlessly around the village until she ended up on the path leading toward the Shrieking Shack. She was a bit surprised to find the path a bit deserted for it being so close to Halloween. Usually the third years crowd the road trying to catch a glimpse of the most haunted building in all of Europe.

As she walked the dirt road thinking about who could possibly know about the potion, she was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of voices up ahead.

'_Hmm…knew I'd run into someone soon enough'_, she thought. She really didn't want to deal with any of her fellow school mates just yet, so she began to head back the way she came. That is, until she heard the hollow of pain coming from around the bend.

"Thought you could get the upper hand huh? You filthy blood traitor!" yelled a deep voice.

Andy then heard something like a whip cracking followed by another howl of pain coming from its victim. Curiosity getting the better of her, she inched toward the bend with her guard up. As she looked around the large tree at the edge of the bend, she found four figures in dark cloaks surrounding something. When she looked to the ground, all she could see was a pair of legs belonging to their victim curled up.

One of the larger figures took his right foot and kicked the person hard in the stomach.

"This will teach you for messing with the likes of us," said another voice. Andy saw him raise his wand toward the victim, and that was all she needed to see. She quickly drew out her wand and disarmed the wizard causing the four of them to turn in her direction.

"What the devil is going on?" said Andy, as she raised her wand at the attackers. She saw that the four of them were wearing masks.

"We've got company!" said another one of the attackers. This time, Andy recognized the voice belonging to one of Snape's friends, Yaxley. She then heard the victim groan loudly and saw that the larger one was about to kick him again.

"Get away from him!" she growled pointing her wand directly at the large one.

"And just who do you think you are?" said Yaxley with an air of coolness.

"Someone you don't want to mess with," said Andy in the same tone. She was ready for them to make the first move and knew that Yaxley or the large one out of the lot would strike first. However the fourth one, who was a bit on the slim side, stepped in and put a hand on Yaxley's shoulder.

"Come on. The master told us to leave if more showed up," he said in low voice. But Andy again recognized the voice again; this time belonging to Severus Snape. Yaxley looked to Snape and then back at Andy. She could tell he was weighing his options and after a few moments accepted Snape's advice.

"This is not over yet," growled Yaxley. With that, the four of them quickly disapparated with a loud crack before Andy could attack.

"Stupid jackasses," she muttered to herself as she pocketed her wand. She ran over toward the victim and gently rolled him over to see how badly he was hurt. As she turned him over, he let out a brutal cry as his dark hair fell into his face.

Once she brushed his hair away, she found him to be the last person she expected. "Blackie?! Mother of Merlin!"

"Sparky, leave me…" groaned Sirius as he grabbed his side while trying to get up. Andy saw blood trickling down from his face and along his arm. His lip was split and swollen, while a fresh bruise was forming over his left eye.

Sirius attempted to get up and fend off Andy but to no avail. He tried to protest her help.

"Oh shut up!" yelled Andy, seeing him about to speak. "Here." She held out her arm and helped him to his feet slowly. Sirius felt himself loose his balance, but didn't fall. Instead, Andy had quickly gotten under him and placed some of his weight on her shoulders. Once she knew he was a bit more steady, she began to slowly lead him back toward town.

"No…the shack…please…" he whimpered as the pain washed through him.

Andy knew that they should head back to where there were professionals to tend to him. But she also saw what he was getting at. If they had returned to Hogsmeade in his current state, there would be an investigation that could do more harm then good. Reluctantly she agreed to his request.

Once they had gotten into the shack, Andy took notice as to how most of the furniture had been broken into pieces, while long scratches resembling claw marks were driven into the hardwood floors and on some of the walls as well. Sirius directed her toward a parlor room that had somewhat undamaged couch shoved along side the far wall. Once she got him over to it, he then told her about a kit with supplies tucked away in the closet next to the stairs.

Within minutes, she had found the kit and gave him a potion for the pain, while she tended to his wounds. The two of them were silent while she went over all his injuries: a few broken ribs, a few deep cuts on his arms, upper torso, and face. Sirius watched her work and knew deep down that if it weren't for her, he'd probably be a lot worse off then in his current state. He was dying to know what was going through her mind. Why she was there on that road. But instead all he was met with was silence.

It wasn't until she was finishing up the last of his cuts that she finally spoke.

"You know you're lucky. They could have killed you."

Sirius chuckled lightly at her tone. "No such luck. Death has no hold over me."

"Oh quit being a dramatic Black," she said in annoyance. "You don't have to impress me with heroic fanfare; especially when dealing with pricks like them."

"What does impress you then?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

She knew what he was hinting at, and quickly put an end to his little game. "Well not being a target on a wizard's gang hit list ranks right up there."

"Ha ha…ouch!" he hissed as she continued to bend his wounds.

"Sorry," she replied with apologetic eyes. After a few moments of silence between them she asked a question that had been nagging her. "How did you know these supplies would be here?"

"I put them here," he said simply.

"You put them here?" Andy said with raised eyebrows. It was then that the realization of where they were caught up to her. "This is where…"

"Yeah, this is where Moony stays during his monthly disappearances," he said a little darkly. Deep down, he never wanted anyone let alone Andy to see their secret club house so to speak. It was bad enough that she knew the lot of him and his friends were illegal animagi.

"I see," she said softly knowing he didn't want to go into any further details. She continued to wave her wand over the bruises over his torso and heard the distinctive crack to let her know his ribs had been healed. "There."

Sirius gasped a bit in pain but when he saw her face, he was over come with emotion. "Andy. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said softly as she looked up into his grey eyes. The look that she saw caused a chill to run down her spine and for her to turn back to her work at hand. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to make a habit of this."

"Sorry?"

"Getting hurt and having me stitch you back up," she said with a chuckle. She ripped off another piece of gauze to clean the wound on his arm.

"Well…you are an excellent healer," he said in a matter of fact tone. He watched her shake her head and continue to avoid his gaze.

"Right."

"I mean it."

"Okay. Let me just put this salve on that cut to help keep it closed. I may be good, but I'm no Madam Pomfrey." Andy then opened the jar of ointment to help keep his wound close and heal correctly. The moment the icy cold concoction hit his wound it felt like a thousand flames had formed on his arm.

"Ah!"

"Sorry," said Andy with gritted teeth. She knew how painful this stuff could be and didn't want to cause him anymore pain.

"It's okay."

As Andy continued to place the salve on Sirius's arm, he couldn't take his eyes off her. The concentration her eyes held on the task at hand. The way her brow got that small crinkle across it when she was trying not to cause him pain, simply mesmerized him. He watched as a strand of her hair fell out of place and framed her face gently as she finished with the dressing.

"There. All set."

Before Andy could react, she felt Sirius's gentle touch on her cheek as he placed the fallen hair back behind her ear. She tried her best to keep her breathing at its normal rate as she felt his finger tips caress her jaw line slowly.

"Andy…"

"We should get back to the castle. Wouldn't want to keep our friends waiting."

"Right. There's a tunnel by the fireplace that leads back to Hogwarts. Sorry to say it ends at the Whomping Willow."

"Wonderful," said Andy sarcastically as she finished up getting rid of the used supplies. Sirius gave her a look before placing his shirt back on.

Once she had finished getting rid of the evidence of an injury, she brushed off her hands on her jeans and began to stand up. Sirius was right there to help her up and relished the warmth that emitted from her body.

"Thanks," said Andy quickly as she took a step away from Sirius and tried to calm her nerves. She walked over to where she left her bag and placed it back across her shoulder. "You know if we hurry, we'll be able to get back before dinner so it will be less of a hassle…"

But she never got to finish her thought. Sirius had quickly grabbed her elbow and spun her around into his arms while his lips captured hers.

Andy made a soft noise of protest but was quickly becoming lost by how soft and gentle this kiss was. Sirius didn't press her on at all. He just firmly left his lips on hers and enjoyed the feeling of them before pulling away. Andy slowly opened her eyes and wished that she hadn't. She stared into his grey eyes and for a few moments was speechless.

"Wh-what was that?" she whispered.

"A thank you," he said in a low voice.

"Oh."

"Do you have any comprehension of how beautiful you are…Miranda?"

"Sirius…please…d…"

But again she didn't have the strength or will power to stop him. This time Sirius was a bit more animated. The hand that had been holding her elbow, had slid down to her waist, while the other laced into her soft hair as the tip of his tongue traced her bottom lip.

Andy didn't know why she was opening up to him when she knew she should have pulled away. But she felt helpless under his presence. The feel of his hand slowly grabbing at her waist. The way his fingers gently massaged her scalp. The mere taste of him was intoxicating and becoming too much for her.

"Sirius…stop…" she breathed out as his lips broke from hers.

But he didn't hear her. His lips were now making a bee line down her jaw line to the base of her throat.

"Sirius, stop! Stop it!!" she said as she pushed him away from her.

Sirius stared at her puzzled and out of breath as his mind caught up with what had just happened. Andy watched as the reality of his actions weighed in on his conscience.

"Oh geez…Andy…I'm s…"he started to say as he walked toward her causing her to jump away from his grasp.

"Just…stay away…please. Just stay away from me," she begged.

He didn't protest. He simply stood there and watched as she climbed down into the tunnel and listened to the echoes of her running down the tunnel away from his presence. Sirius walked back toward the beat up couch and held his head in his hands as he replayed what just happened.

"What have I done? What _have_ I_ done_!"


	45. Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun

**Days In Avalon**

**Chapter Forty-Five: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun **

The next few days were uneventful around Hogwarts in terms of personal drama. Instead the buzz about the upcoming holiday and ball were beginning to rise as students began to make plans for their holidays and with dates.

However the professors of Hogwarts had other plans for their students.

"What kind of an assignment is that? Research your family history? What are we? Second Years?" barked Felicia as she left the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom one Thursday afternoon.

"Well at least it's a fairly easy assignment," commented Karen.

"But still? In a Defense class? I'd expect it in History of Magic," Felicia sneered.

"Well you never know who could be in your family that you may have to come up against," said Kelly.

"So who are you going to do your report on Andy?" asked Lily looking for a slight change in subject.

"Don't know, really. Probably my Gran or Grandfather Marshal," Andy replied.

"Why don't you research your mom's side of the family?" Kelly inquired. "The assignment doesn't have to be wizard related."

"I would but my mom doesn't know her past. She was raised by her Aunt Hope. Her mother died giving birth to her, and she never knew who her father was. Or if she has any brothers or sisters," said Andy as she tried to avoid a group of first years running down the hall toward their next class.

"She never thought to look him up?" Felicia asked.

"She did try when she was younger, but couldn't find anything," Andy replied with a shake of her head.

"Well maybe you could find something," thought Karen.

"Right…because magic can solve everything," laughed Andy at the idea.

"You never know. Maybe she had a wizard or witch on her side of the family," Lily commented as she saw a few of their classmates come up to them.

"Yes because a member of my mother's family is just going to magically appear out of the wood work. What do you think my life is? A fairy tale?" Andy laughed again.

"Well your life is sort of a fairy tale when you think about," commented Kelly. "You found out you were a witch from a six hundred year old grandmother. You go to school in a castle. You're family is practically wizard royalty."

"Thanks for giving me the cliff notes of my life. I'd completely forgotten all of it," said Andy darkly. With that she began to walk away from her friends needing some air. But before she could get away she bumped into James and Remus as she was making her escape. Peter and Sirius were coming up behind them.

"Something wrong princess?" asked Sirius noticing the look on her face.

"Stuff it Black!" barked Andy as she stormed off down the hall.

"Did I miss something?" asked Sirius to James and Remus.

"Miranda doesn't like to talk about her family history; especially when it comes to her heritage," sighed Lily.

She knew she would have to check on her friend soon, but for right now she knew best to leave her alone and let her temper cool. Deep down Lily still felt sorry for Andy situation. Being forced into a lifestyle she really knew nothing about and expected to be a prominent figure in the wizarding world was still taking a toll on her dear friend. But no matter what would become of their lives, Lily was sure they would always be there for each other no matter what.

"I can relate to that," Sirius said darkly as he looked down the hall where Andy had now disappeared.

"So what plans do you have now Ms. Evans?" said James cheerfully trying to lighten the mood a bit over Andy's departure.

Lily smiled at his attempt to make her feel a bit better. "Pricing for the ball. You?"

"That sounds like fun," said James with a bit of a grimace. "No late night meetings with a secret lover?"

"Well if I told you then it wouldn't be a secret now would it?" she bantered back. "Now why haven't you answered my question yet?"

"Well, if I told you then I'd have to kill you," James said in a low voice

"You could just wipe my memory," said Lily in a challenging tone.

James pondered her response for a moment before answering. "As tempting as that sounds I wouldn't want to be the cause of destroying one of the most brilliant minds Hogwarts has seen yet."

Lily couldn't help but blush slightly at his comment and at the look he was giving her. It seemed like the more she looked into his hazel eyes, the more captivated she became by his charms. After a moment she realized why he didn't fully answer her question "You're doing something dangerous with your friends aren't you?"

James face fell for a moment as he thought of the best response. For some reason he now felt compelled to tell Lily of his plans but knew that she would probably want to come and help. "It would be better for all of us if I didn't answer that question."

"Fair enough," Lily said with a nod. She felt a bit hurt by his response but knew that she really had no right to know of his business. The two of the stood there for a moment in awkward silence trying to think of something else to say but neither were able to think of any topic to discuss.

"Listen I'd better go meet up with Sirius," said James as he noticed that his friends had left him behind as did Lily's. "I'll see you around?"

"Sure," replied Lily with a smile. As James began to walk away she felt the need to tell him something. "Potter!" she called out to him. James stopped in his tracks and looked at her quizzically. "Be careful, please?"

James chuckled at her plea. "Where's the fun in that?" When he saw that she was serious he walked back to her and grabbed a hold of her hand to comfort her worry. "I'll try. For you." Before he departed he lifted one of her hands up to face level and placed a gentle kiss on it. The gesture caught Lily by surprise and with a wink and smile James had taken off down the hall to catch up with his mates; leaving a slightly flustered and smiling Lily behind.

Lily began to make her way back to her room to fetch her bag and list of needs for the ball. As she turned the corner she saw Andy coming out of the library.

"Andy!"

Andy blinked upon hearing her name and looked up to find Lily before her. "Oh hey Lil. What's up?"

"Are you okay?" Lily inquired.

"Yes. I'm fine," Andy said with a soft smile. "Sorry about before. I just…"

"I know. It's all right. We all get it," said Lily as she brushed her hand back and forth as to dismiss the topic.

Andy smiled at her friend thankful that she understood her so well. "So what are you up too?"

"Planning on doing some pricing," said Lily with a sigh.

"Sounds like fun," said Andy as the two girls walked down the hall for a bit for some privacy. "You, surround by countless magazines and catalogues."

"Who said I would be looking at books?" Lily asked with an impish grin.

Andy raised an eyebrow at her friend before stopping in her tracks. "Okay you have my attention now. What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking of heading to Hogsmeade," Lily said brightly.

"Today? But everyone's going on Saturday for the trip," said Andy a bit confused since she knew her friend almost always traveled down to the village with the rest of the school.

"Exactly," Lily replied.

The realization finally struck her and a mischievous grin began to show on Andy's face. "Hmm…Sneaking out of the castle on a Thursday night? Whatever would McGonagall say?"

"So are you in or out?" asked Lily for confirmation.

Andy gave her a dark look before responding. "Really you have to ask? You just involved two of my favorite passions in life: breaking the rules and shopping with my best friend. What more could a witch ask for?"

"Thought so," laughed Lily.

Andy wrapped her arm around her best friend's shoulders as the two of them headed toward the main stairwell of the castle. "Besides what else am I going do? Listen to Felicia droll on and on about her new guy and how he's so much better than her last flame? I'd rather put up with another lesson of Magical History and a detention with McGonagall than endure that kind of torture."

"Meet you in the common room then in about fifteen?" Lily asked.

"You got it kid," Andy replied with a wink.

Within the hour the girls were off to Hogsmeade using the One-eyed Witch passage. Once they had arrived, the girls found that pricing and ordering everything for the ball was easier than expected. After about an hour, the girls were done with everything and were now enjoying the afternoon for some well-deserved girl time.

"So why did McGonagall not want you coming out here today?" Andy inquired as the two of them window shopped.

"I don't really know. She said I could have gone out with everyone else this weekend," said Lily as she gazed at the new items featured at Zonko's.

"So why didn't you? Not that I'm complaining about being away from school for a few hours," Andy asked with her hands raised.

"It would have been cutting my time line too close. Plus you know how everyone gets around this time of year. The stores would be jammed packed," said Lily as she looked around the almost empty streets of Hogsmeade.

"True. Just seems odd that the old bat would tell you 'no'. I mean you are the Hogwarts golden girl," Andy joked.

"Haha," Lily said dryly. "So are you ready to head back yet?"

Andy was about to answer until she noticed the shop behind her friend. "Hold on," she said while grabbing a hold of Lily's and pulling her toward the dress shop. "We're not done yet."

"Excuse me?" asked Lily, not sure what her friend was getting at.

"Lily, have you even thought about what kind of dress you are going to wear to this ball?" Andy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I still have some time," she said a little softly.

"Lily, you just said so yourself about how people get around this time of year. Plus it looks like they just got a new supply of dresses in," Andy added with a wide smile.

"I was planning on getting it this weekend."

"With every other girl at school? Are you nuts? Have I taught you nothing?" Andy replied looking at Lily as if she had grown two extra heads.

"Andy…" Lily started.

"Oh come on Lily. You think we are the only two girls to sneak out of the castle to beat the rush of dress shopping? I don't think so."

"But…

'"No time like the present. Come on Evans, show off the Gryffindor courage," said Andy as she held open the shop door for her friend. Lily glared at her for a moment before heading into the shop.

"You know for someone who hates being their mother's life-size Barbie doll, you sure like inflicting torture on others," Lily muttered.

"What can I say, it's therapy for me. Otherwise I'd probably be a crazed psychopathic witch hell bent on destroying to world," laughed Andy as she began to roam through the racks of clothes.

"And you aren't one already?" laughed Lily as she pulled out a dress robe that looked like it came from the Dark Ages.

"I don't want to destroy it. I just want to rule it in my favor of course," Andy said with a sly smirk.

The girls browsed around the store going through a number of racks but finding nothing that was 'perfect' for Lily as Andy put it. "Remind me again why we aren't shopping for you?" asked Lily when Andy shot down the black and silver robes that she had just pulled out.

"Because the moment my mother heard of the ball she started designing another dress," said Andy as she pulled out a dark blue dress but immediately put it back.

"That's why you've been getting more letters from her recently," Lily said as she remembered the recent number of owls Andy had received over the last few weeks. She glanced over at her friend and noticed the sour look on her face. "I take it though that the original design was not to your liking?"

"The dress looked like something Molly Ringwald would wear in a sequel to Pretty in Pink; big, poufy and slightly gaudy," Andy said darkly.

"Oh my. So why don't you just tell her that you'll buy your own dress?" Lily suggested.

"Are you kidding me? The moment my mother finds out that I wore something other than one of her original designs to an important event she'd have a heart attack. Hmm…" Andy pondered.

Lily saw her friend and could see the wheels turning in her head. "Andy!"

"I'm only kidding. Besides she said that she'd make the changes I suggested to her and pick out another color. And if worse comes to worse if I don't like it, I could give it to Felicia. You know how she loves my mother's designs," Andy rambled as she went through a rack and stopped suddenly. "Speaking of designs…"

Lily looked up and saw what she was holding. It was a floor length mint green dress with delicate flower overlay with crystals in it. The dress also came with a matching shawl with a slight fringe to it.

"Wow," said Lily in amazement over their find.

"Try it on," Andy ordered.

"What? No Andy. Besides I can't afford this kind of dress," Lily said in protest

"Just try it on Evans," Andy barked as she pointed toward the little dressing room off to the side. Lily huffed before she gathered the dress and marched over toward the room. A few minutes later Lily emerged from behind the curtain and modeled the dress for Andy before standing in front of the three-way mirror next to the little dressing room.

"Well? How does it look?" Lily asked after she spun around once more for her friend. She watched as Andy silently chewed her nails, deep in thought over the dress.

"Let me put it this way for you Lil…" said Andy after a moment of pondering. "If you walked into the hall wearing that, no one would be able to take their eyes off you."

"Really?" said Lily with a skeptic tone.

Andy shook her head for a moment as she walked over toward Lil and helped her adjust the dress a bit in the back. "Lily as your best friend I'm telling you to get this dress before someone else gets a hold of it."

"I don't know," Lily said softly. She looked in the mirror and had to admit that the dress was very pretty and flattered her complexion and figure very well.

"Lil I'm not letting you leave this store without that dress. It would be a crime against fashion," said Andy as she lifted Lily's hair a bit to get an idea of how it should be styled with the dress.

"But…"

"We'll take it!" Andy yelled out as she pulled out her money sack and marched over to the store's counter. "Hope you like you're Christmas present!"

"Andy," Lily said as she ran after her to stop her from making the purchase.

"Hey I'm not having some girl like Nessie Black or Georgina Malcolm getting their greasy hands on your dress and ruin it," Andy said in a matter of fact tone.

Lily sighed deeply and knew that there was no point in changing her friend's mind. "Thank you Andy."

"You're welcome," said Andy with a huge grin. After Lily had changed back into her outfit and the shopkeeper had placed the dress in a garment bag that was magically water, fire, and wrinkle proof, the girls made their way out of the store.

"Now all we have to do is find you the perfect date," said Andy as she quickly began to think of several guys that would be perfect for her friend.

"Andy…I'm going with James," said Lily as if the choice of her date was obvious.

Andy stopped in her tracks and spun around to face Lily as if she had grown another head. "Excuse me? When did this happen?"

"It's pretty much been a given since the ball has been announced," Lily said a little confused as to why she was acting this way. _'This is the girl that tried to set me up with Potter for the past couple of years right?'_

Andy looked at Lily for a moment as she took in what she was saying. "So he asked you at the beginning of the year? After the whole train issue?"

"No." Lily said after a moment a silence.

A small wave a panic began to rise in her as she realized that maybe James didn't want to go to the ball with her. Sure they had grown close over the past few months, but he did mention that he was trying to stay away from her and her life. Maybe he had already had a girl in mind instead of her. Dumbledore had stated at their meeting that the two of them would be opening the ball, but he never said anything about the two of them having to be each other's date.

Andy could see the wheels in Lily's brain kicking into high gear and knew that she was on the verge of possibly having a small internal freak out. "Lily…has he even brought up the ball other than in the context of planning for it?"

"No."

Andy knew Lily was about to have a melt down and berate herself for jumping to conclusions. Right now Lily needed a friend. "Come on. Girl talk time."

Andy pulled Lily away from the dress shop and headed over toward the Three Broomsticks. The moment the two of them entered the warm establishment Andy spotted an empty table hidden in the back that would be away from the general tavern population. Madam Rosmerta saw the two of them and began to pour out two full mugs of butterbeer.

"Here you go dearies. Something to take the chill out of your bones," said Rosmerta as she placed the hot butterbeers on the table the girls had sat at.

"Thanks Rosmerta," said Andy brightly. Once the landlady was out of earshot, Andy continued with the topic at hand.

"Okay you know I love you, but just because you two are supposed to be opening the ball together that doesn't really…"

Lily sighed in frustration over her friend's words. "I know Miranda. It's just….I don't know."

"Lil what is going on with you? "

"Promise me you won't make fun of me?" Lily asked with scrunched up face.

"I'm your best friend," Andy replied, slightly hurt by Lily's words.

"Exactly and you are also you," Lily stated in a matter of fact tone.

Andy considered this for a moment and knew that she was right. "Okay I promise. What is it?"

Lily hesitated for a moment before finally stating what was bothering her. "I've been having…odd dreams lately….about Potter."

"What kind of odd dreams?" Andy asked. Deep down she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know the answer to her question. In her mind there are some visions that must never come to light.

"Well…" started Lily, as she tried to think of the right words.

Andy grew more nervous and before she knew it, she had downed a whole mug of butterbeer. "Hold up. I need another drink."

With that Andy quickly rushed up to the bar and ordered another butterbeer. She thought of asking for something a bit stronger, but decided against it.

"So okay back to the topic at hand. Dreams?" Andy inquired as she took another sip of butterbeer.

"It's just a couple of stupid dreams. Fantasies really. They're nothing," said Lily as she tried to dismiss the topic.

Andy let out a sigh of relief now knowing that this would not be one of those kind of conversations about someone she considers to be her brother.

"Oh so now they are fantasies?" Andy asked trying to make light of the situation.

"Behave Andy."

Andy began to laugh loudly at her statement. "Yeah right. Lily we are talking about James Potter here. A guy you say you can't stand. A guy you couldn't be around for nearly most of your career at Hogwarts."

"That's why it's just dreams. Nothing to worry about," Lily said while rolling her eyes.

"Oh come on Lily. He made a few mistakes," said Andy lightly.

Lily glared darkly at Andy over her statement of James's 'few mistakes'. Once Andy saw the look she knew she chose the wrong form of words.

"Look, I know Jay screwed up big time. Hell even I was pissed at him, but he is sorry for what he said."

"I know he is. I have tried talking to him about what happened," said Lily a bit frustrated and confused over her feelings.

"And?" said Andy after a moment of silence.

"Nothing," Lily replied with a shrug. "He doesn't want to talk about. He says he'll maintain his distance from me other than school related issues. He says he doesn't want to hurt me anymore than he already has."

Andy hung her head and muttered something under her breath. "Damn fool."

Lily quizzically looked at Andy's statement. "You know something don't you?"

"I shouldn't say anything," said Andy knowing it was wrong to break her promise to James. Deep down she knew that her two best friends did belong together, and now it finally seemed that maybe Lily was seeing this too.

"Spill it Starmenter," barked Lily.

Andy sighed deeply before uttering the words she knew would possibly change this whole saga for the better. "James is…well…scared of you."

"Me?" said Lily in confusion.

"Lil the poor bloke has been crazy about you since our fifth year if not longer. The reason why he kept showing off whenever you were around was because he was listening to a bunch of idiots and…he was afraid of losing you," said Andy in a rush.

"But he…"

"I know he never had you to begin with. But he still holds onto hope that you'll change your mind. He's not use to having to really work for something or at something. Jay has always been special. And I'm not talking sports or academics. I'm talking in general. Heck it's a miracle he's even here!" said Andy before she gulped down some more of her drink.

"Excuse me?" Lily asked.

"You met his parents right?" Andy asked.

"Yes. I do know about their problem with having children."

"Every kid the Potters had didn't see the age of five," Andy said in a low tone.

"How many children did they have?" Lily asked out of curiosity.

"Enough," Andy said darkly.

Lily shook her head in disbelief. "How do you even know this?"

"My gran. It was part of her many lessons. Know everything and anything about everyone; friend or foe, because one day it could save your life or the life of others," Andy lectured.

"Your grandmother really was like a crime lord? You do have some pretty big shoes to fill," Lily giggled.

"You have no idea," said Andy as she took another sip of butterbeer.

Lily sat in silence for a moment as she took in what Andy said about James. "James is really scared of me?"

"Yes," said Andy. "James cares for you, very deeply. Look Lily I'm not saying you need to fall in love with the guy. Just give him the benefit of the doubt. He means well. He just doesn't know how to go by it."

Lily thought deeply over this new information, but decided that she would go over it more in detail another time. "I guess."

"Hey it's not like the end of the world. It's the typical life of a teenager," laughed Andy.

"Since when did you become this all wise and knowing sage?" Lily asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Experience," Andy said simply before she noticed the time on her watch. "Come on. We'd better head back to Hogwarts before it gets too late."

The girls paid for their drinks and bid Rosemerta a good evening before heading back to Hogwarts.


	46. Blue Moon

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Forty-Six: Blue Moon**

As the girls left the tavern, Lily thought it was the best time to change the subject. "So what have you been up too?"

Andy shrugged her shoulders as she swung Lily's garment bag over her shoulder. "Same old stuff. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," said Lily lightly. "And Tristan?"

"Tristan is fine. Things have never been better," said Andy with a smile.

"That's great!" said Lily happily. "And Sirius?"

Andy stopped dead in her tracks upon Lily's question. "Where did that come from?"

"Well you two have been spending quite a bit of time together lately," said Lily. She could sense that Andy was getting ready to attack if things took a turn for the worse.

"So have you and Potter," said Andy in a matter of fact tone. "That doesn't mean I'm having dreams about him."

"Ha ha," said Lily dryly.

"Damn," Andy said suddenly.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

"Honeydukes is closed," Andy said as she motioned over toward the now dark sweet shop. Lily then saw the closed sign and knew that sneaking back into the castle just got a bit harder.

"What about the other passages?" Lily asked, knowing of a few that they could get to soon before some of the other shops closed up.

Andy shook her head as she tried to think of a way back for them. "Flitch will be watching them this time of night."

"Guess we have to sneak in the old fashion way," sighed Lily.

Andy thought for another moment before an idea formed in her head. "Hold on," she said while stopping Lily from heading back up the road toward the school. "I know of another passage."

"Where?"

"Just follow me," said Andy with a smirk.

Lily followed Andy through the little streets of Hogsmeade until they arrived at a darken path leading away from the town.

"This path leads to the Shrieking Shack!" Lily said upon realizing where they were heading.

"Can't pull one over you Lil," Andy laughed.

Lily shook her head as she tried to think of where and how her friend was able to know about all these passages. "How do you even know this passage even exists?"

"I used it a couple of weeks," Andy said playfully. She knew Lily was trying to figure out her secrets but she was just willing to divulge the truth just yet.

"Have you been spending time around Haunted Houses and not telling me?" Lily inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"What's with the twenty questions?" Andy asked. When she saw that Lily was not going to give up until she knew the truth she sighed in defeat. "Fine. I went to the shack with someone."

"Who?"

Andy sighed deeply before answering. "Black."

Lily watched Andy for a moment before taking a breath. "Hmm."

"Don't start Lil," Andy fired before Lily could say anything. "It was nothing. The guy got hurt, so I took him there to stich him up."

"That's it? Nothing else happened?" Lily asked as she watched her best friend's face in the pale darkness.

Andy paused for a moment as her mind wandered back to that day when he had kissed her. The feel of his lips on hers and how they made her feel things she had never really felt before with anyone. In her mind she knew it was wrong to have kissed him. But in her heart, she never felt happier.

"Nope. Nothing happened," she said with her stone cold poker face. The face she only really uses when talking with her parents or a professor.

Lily knew she was lying, but decided that she would not push her any more on the matter. "Just make sure nothing does."

"What's that supposed to mean Lily?" Andy asked with a raised eyebrow

"People have been talking about you," Lily said with a warning tone.

"People always talk about me. I'm used to it by now," Andy laughed at her friend's revelation.

"Yes but not about you and Black," Lily said with a serious tone.

Andy glanced over at Lily while they walked the now darken path in the woods. "Where have you been for the last few years? Remember a little war started by Blackie?"

"Did your little war involve the two of you meeting late at night for secret meetings? Or Black practically stalking you around the castle when he knows you have a boyfriend?" Lily said with concern as she tried to make her friend see the seriousness of their topic.

Andy stopped in her tracks upon Lily's statement. "Excuse me?"

"Andy…Sirius is obsessed with you. He's made you his new target," Lily said with earnest. She knew that her best friend didn't care much for the gossip around the castle when Andy was the subject. In fact Andy usually just let people think what they wanted because as she put it 'it's easier for people to believe in a lie than in the truth'.

Andy scoffed at her friend's revelation. "No he hasn't Lily."

"Andy, you are the one person in his life that he can't have. You are the ultimate challenge for him," said Lily trying to make her see a bit of reason in this situation.

Andy sighed deeply while looking at the dark cloudy sky for some help. She could see the small sliver of moon light trying to break free of the dense clouds. "Lily for the last time there is nothing going on between me and Sirius Black. We are just friends. We've called a temporary truce. The war is over, and now it's time for all of us to grow up. There is nothing going on and there never will be. End of story."

Lily could tell that for once she was being serious. But she could also see that Andy was starting to believe her own lies or better yet didn't want to deal with the possibility that Sirius Black could have feeling for her. "Okay. If you say nothing is going on, then I believe you."

"Thank you," sighed Andy.

The two girls continued on the path to the shack and a more normal pace, rather than the leisure pace they had been going at. As the girls reached the second to last bend that would put the shack into view, Lily heard a sharp crack not far behind them.

"Did you hear that?" Lily asked suddenly.

"Here what?"

"That noise," said Lily. "It almost sounded like hooves."

Andy stopped for a moment and listened to the night. She could faintly hear the soft padding of something rather big that was running through the woods. "It's probably a deer or the centaurs running around."

"Maybe," said Lily looking out into the dark woods trying to see if she could find the cause of the noise.

"Come on the shack is not far now," said Andy as she swung the garment bag from one shoulder to the other. Just as they had taken two steps, the girls heard an ear piercing howl that sent chills down their spines.

The two of them stood there in a state of shock and fear of how close the howl was. Both of the girls turned to one another, each with now labored breathing. "What the blood hell was that?" asked Lily in a whispered voice.

Before Andy could respond they heard another howl that now seemed even closer than before. "Oh crap," Andy breathed out. Not even thinking, she quickly pulled out her wand and began to turn around a bit to see is she could detect movement in the woods.

"Wolves?" Lily asked breathless as she tried to control her breathing and pulled out her wand as well.

"Or wolf," said Andy darkly as she tried to remember what day it was. "Lily you don't think?"

"No it's can't be," said Lily as Andy turned around to face her. "There was a full moon already this month. I remember it clearly."

Andy looked up at the sky as a slightly dense cloud began to roll over the moon revealing more of it than before. "Are you sure about that?"

"Positive," said Lily as she watched Andy's face change into disbelief. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Because there is a full moon behind you," said Andy thickly as she watched the moon come into full view.

"What?" Lily spun around and saw with horror that indeed a full golden moon was hanging in the inky black sky with a few thick clouds slowly rolling through it. "Oh shit."

Andy shook herself out of her state of shock and allowed her instincts to kick in. "Blue moon," she muttered more to herself. Thinking that they had a chance to get to the shack, Andy walked up to Lily and began to pull her along. "Come on."

"We can't head for the shack," protested Lily as she dug her heels into the earth.

"Well he's not in there now. You have any better ideas?" Andy barked as she continued to look around and listen for any signs of movement.

"We could head back into town and bum a ride back up to the school. Or we could use the floo network," said Lily trying to come up with a rational idea in her state of panic. She tried to keep the memories of her previous encounters with a werewolf at bay. Memories that still occasionally caused her nightmares when she least expected them.

Andy shook her head before over powering Lily and pulling her down the road. The girls continue on the path toward the shack until they hear a branch snap in two and witness a large wolf sniffing the ground on top of a nearby hill.

"Remus," Lily breathed out as she prayed that the wolf before them did not look up.

"He's not Remus now," said Andy darkly as she flexed her fingers around her wand.

At that moment a soft breeze blew from behind them, causing the werewolf to catch their scent. The growled softly as he stared down at his new prey. The wolf took a small step forward while keeping his head low.

Both girls slowly took a step back from the coming wolf and tried to keep from any sudden movements.

"Nice Remus. Good Remus. You don't want to hurt us," said Lily softly as she hoped by chance that Remus would suddenly loose interest in them, or that some part of his human mind was still intact.

"Talking to him is not going to help Lil," said Andy as she watched the werewolf's footing and for any signs of attack. As she was keeping an eye the wolf, Andy was also looking around for any sign of the others that should be out with him.

'_Where the devil could they be?'_

"You have any better ideas, because we seem to be fresh out of silver bullets and a gun," Lily snapped.

"Great, now you become as sarcastic as me," said Andy. "Besides we can't kill him."

"Oh great! Now you want to get sentimental," muttered Lily as she continued to watch the wolf's movements.

"Do you think he's going to charge?" Lily asked in a hush tone.

"Merlin, I hope not. Come on Remus, just be a good little werewolf and let us by," said Andy in a calming tone. At that moment Andy accidently stepped on a twig sending a snap that sounded more like a gun shot through the night air.

Andy swore under her breath, as her instincts kicked in telling her that her friend was about to attack them.

"Run! On three," said Andy in a dark voice. Lily nodded softly as she pulled her wand tightly to her.

"Sorry for doing this Remus," Andy said softly. "THREE!"

With that Lily saw a bright purple light shoot from Andy's wand and hit Remus square in the chest sending him flying back at least fifteen feet.

The two girls ran into the woods and soon were separated in the thick of the woods. After a moment Lily suddenly saw bright red sparks shoot into the sky followed by Andy's voice in the distance yelling "Keep running!"

Lily ran with everything she had. At times she thought she could hear the werewolf right behind her, but every time she glanced back, she saw nothing but trees and darkness. After a few more minutes, Lily had to stop and catch her breath. As she leaned up against a tree she could hear the soft growls of an animal off in the distance.

"Back off you mangy mutt!" shouted Andy in the distance. A high yelp was followed by Andy's shout. Lily wondered where her friend could be and if she was alright. Lily sent off some red sparks into the air in hopes that Andy would take the hint and signal that she was fine.

A moment later Lily saw a set of white sparks that were a little over a hundred yards away. She began to run in that general direction to meet up with Andy. After a few moments Lily came to a clearing with a sudden drop about eighty feet away from where she turned up. On the other side of the clearing Lily saw Andy running towards her with a small cut near her hairline.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked.

"I'm fine. I just had a brush with a low tree branch," Andy huffed as she tried to regain her breath. "He's right behind me. I did manage to stun him, but I'm sure he has the scent of my blood."

"Now what?" asked Lily.

"We climb," said Andy she pointed to a pair of nearby trees with some branches low enough to climb up on.

"Climb?"

"I'll help you." As Andy began to give Lily a boost, the werewolf appeared and began to charge them.

Both girls ended up rolling out of the way as the wolf tried to choose his target.

"I'm getting real sick and tired of this Rem," said Andy as she fired yet another stunning curse at the wolf. She only managed to clip him as he began to stalk Andy. Before he could even lunge at Andy, Lily fired her own stunning curse at the wolf and sent him flying a few feet.

"Get up in the tree," said Andy as she rushed over to help her friend. Once Lily had a good grip on the low branch, Andy began to hoist her up more until she could get to a high enough branch.

"Andy watch out!" Lily shouted as she saw a blur of fur out of the corner of her eye.

Andy turned just in time to see a large paw come within inches of her chest. At the same time, Andy had let go of Lily's foot and fell backwards, while Lily began to slip. The bark of the tree cut into Lily's leg and she could feel a small trickle of blood roll down her leg. Lily fought and pulled herself up enough to sit on a fairly sturdy branch that could hold her weight at least for a little while.

As she looked down at her friend, she saw that the werewolf was now stalking Andy, circling her as if he were a shark. Lily took a deep breath before firing yet another curse at him. With each curse Lily fired, the werewolf jumped out of the way and a bit further away from Andy.

Andy looked around and saw the sudden drop of the hill nearby, along with an Oak tree that had a low branch hanging just above the drop. She also noticed that the tree's thick roots were sticking out as well. An idea suddenly popped into her head.

Before she could let Lily know she had a plan, the werewolf began to charge Andy like bull. Thinking on her feet Andy dodged out of the way and ran around the clearing knowing that the wolf would follow her. As she began to zig and zag through the clearing, Lily watched as Andy was nearly hit or bitten by the wolf.

Soon, Lily saw Andy make a mad dash toward the tree at the other end of the clearing were the drop was. She watched as her friend leaped on to the root and jump off it, while grabbing a hold onto the low branch. The force of her motion forced Andy to swing out from the branch like a gymnast on a high bar.

At the same time, Remus continued to charge after her and leaped over the root. Andy watched as her friend rolled down the hill and landed at the bottom of the hill hard.

"He's going to be feeling that in the morning," said Andy to herself as she jumped off the branch and walked back over toward Lily.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked from the tree.

"Yeah, but Lupin is going to have one hell of a headache in the morning. How about you?" Andy asked as she wiped her brow.

"For the most part," laughed Lily. "Now how do I get down."

No sooner than the words left her mouth did the branch give way underneath her. Lily crashed to the ground with a loud thump landing almost squarely on her behind.

Andy rushed over to her friend's side, "Are you hurt?"

Lily took a moment to get her bearing straight and take assessment of her state. "Just my pride," she laughed a little while groaning in pain.

"That's one way to get out of a tree," said Andy lightly as she helped her friend up.

"Is he…" Lily started to ask as she brushed off some of the dirt on her clothes.

"He'll live," Andy said dryly as she rubbed the shoulder that she had fallen on. The two girls took a moment to figure out where they were in relation to the main road.

"Where are the bags?" asked Lily after a moment.

"I dropped them back when Remus was chasing me. Don't worry I'll find them in the morning. If they aren't too badly ruined," said Andy apologetically.

Just as the girls were about the leave they could hear shuffling coming from the edge of the drop. Both of the saw a large paw come up from the edge and claw its way to the surface.

"You've got to be kidding me!" shouted Lily.

"Son of a bitch can't just stay down long enough for us to leave," said Andy darkly.

Before they could do anything, the werewolf had climbed back up the hill and was staring down Lily and Andy.

"Now what do we do?" whispered Lily.

"I'm thinking," Andy said in a low voice.

The two friends had their wands pointed toward the werewolf ready to cast whatever spell came to mind at that moment. But luckily, they never had to.

Right at the moment the werewolf was about to rush at the girls, a large hairy figure jumped out from a brush and collided with the werewolf. A second later, a large stag leaped into view and stood in between the girls and the two other animals.

Lily and Andy stared at the creatures with wide eyes as they watched the large black dog and werewolf square off. At one point in their little dance, the werewolf managed to get by the black dog and charged at the girls again. This time the werewolf was met with the stag's antlers that flipped him in the air and landing on his back some twenty feet away from him, Andy, and Lily.

"Looks like the cavalry finally arrived," Andy said in a low tone.

Both girls watched as the werewolf got back up and quickly made a mad dash into the woods and away from the stag and dog. Nearby, Andy heard a pile of leaves move could have sworn she saw a rat or chipmunk scurry off into the night after the werewolf. When she drew her attention back toward the stag and dog, it took her a moment to realize that this was the first time she had ever seen James or Sirius in there animagus form.

Lily walked up toward the stag and noticed how familiar the creature looked to her, yet he seemed a bit bigger than the last time she saw him. Once she was right next the stag, she gently touched its nose while the stag nuzzled into her soft caress. She soon became slightly lost at the velvety softness of the stag's fur and the beautiful hazel eyes that gazed back at her.

Andy watched on in the distance and had a feeling that she was watching a very private moment. It took her a second to realize that the big black dog was now standing next to her also watching the scene before them.

"And it only took the near death experience of a werewolf to get them to act like this," Andy said in a low tone while shaking her head. A second later she heard dog let out a low growl, and saw that its grey eyes were now staring darkly at her.

Andy knew what was going through his head at that moment just by the look he was giving her. "Don't even think about it there _Snuffles_!" Andy said in a harsh tone.

The sound of Andy's voice shook Lily and the stag out of their moment and forced them to turn toward the commotion. Lily saw Andy standing off to the side with her arms crossed having a staring contest with the black dog. A moment later the dog turned his head toward Lily and the stag. It was then that she noticed the striking grey eyes the dog possessed.

"Come on Lil. We should get going," Andy said as she turned to walk back toward the main road to Hogwarts. She took about four steps until the black dog stopped her.

Andy stared down at the dog as she did with a number of her enemies. "Get out of my way…mutt".

The dog lightly growled and barked at Andy causing her to slightly flinch at the loudness of his bark. Lily wondered why Andy seemed to be getting into a battle with a dog like she normally did with the likes of several Slytherins or one Sirius Black.

The stag made a noise that caused everyone to stop what they were doing. Once he had everyone's attention he began to head toward another path.

"I think he wants us to follow him," Lily said feeling compelled to follow the creature.

She noticed that Andy and the dog continued to stare at one another in some sort of silent battle that Lily didn't understand.

"Andy, come on! Please," Lily pleaded as she began to follow the stag.

Andy sighed in defeat before nodding toward her friend. "This isn't over by a long shot," she said roughly toward the dog.

The dog seemed to adopt a smug look upon his face as he watched Andy walk past him toward the stag.

The two girls followed the stag in silence for a long while. Both had their wands out, ready for any sort of surprise attack. After walking for about twenty minutes in the dark they soon could see the outline of the Shrieking Shack off in the distance.

"Are you completely nuts?" said Andy suddenly causing the party to stop in their tracks.

"Andy what are you talking about," Lily questioned.

Andy ignored her friend for a moment as she stared directly into the stag's hazel eyes. "I'm not going in there," she said in a stern tone.

Lily started at her friend as if she had suddenly grown another head. "What? Why not?"

"What if Remus went back into that house?" said Andy as if it were obvious. A second later the four of them heard the call of the werewolf off into the distance.

Lily and the stag looked upon Andy wondering if she had any other objections to the plan. The black dog on the other hand began to pant hard as if it were laughing. Andy glared down at the dog before rolling her eyes.

"Oh shut up you flea bitten mongrel," she said darkly. She quickly marched past the lot of them and headed toward the house. The stag trotted toward Andy trying to once again take the lead.

A moment later, Lily let out a small shriek causing everyone to stop once more.

"What is it Lil?" Andy asked.

"Something just ran past my feet," said Lily as she turned around in place trying to see what it was.

"Probably just a field mouse or rat," said Andy off handedly. The moment she realized what she had said the air around them changed to a serious tone once more. The stag and dog once again took on a defensive stance around the girls as they looked around for any signs of the werewolf.

Soon the lot of them could see the silhouette of the werewolf down the path they had just walked through. Both the stag and dog looked at one another silently communicating.

"Go!" said Andy suddenly causing both of them to turn toward her. "I know where the tunnel is in the house. Go deal with him until were back to Hogwarts."

She could see the werewolf begin to pick up some speed as it came down the path. The dog nodded in understanding, but the stag continued to look upon Lily with concern.

Andy walked up toward the stag and said to him a low voice, "I'll keep her safe, Jay. I promise. Trust me." The stag stared at her for a moment before nodding slightly. He bowed toward Lily before running off down the path with the black dog toward the werewolf.

Lily and Andy watched the two creatures run off for a moment before making a mad dash toward the Shrieking Shack. Once they were inside, Andy threw herself toward the hidden passage in the floor.

"Get in Lil," she said as she held it open the entrance to the tunnel. Lily quickly took the stairs down to the tunnel. As Andy began to descend the stairs, she could hear the growls and barks outside the shack. She didn't know where Wormtail was so she quickly decided to leave a calling card to let them know they were safe. She quickly conjured a small lily flower and left it by the entrance before heading down the tunnel with Lily toward the safety of Hogwarts.

* * *

**AN:** Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. Life has been getting in my way, as well as a case of writer's block. Luckily the block is over and for the most part this story is almost finished.

Once again I'd like to thank you all for your wonderful reviews. I'm sorry if some of my depictions of the characters are not to your liking or slightly go against cannon storyline/character history, but when I first began this story the series was not yet complete. (And yes, I have read all seven books multiple times) So now that J.K. Rowling (and soon Warner Brothers) has finished with the adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, please keep in mind now that this story is a slight alternate universe story. If this offends anyone…well I'm sorry, but that is the way the cookie crumbles. I thank you for your interest in this story, and I'm sorry if my interpretation is not to your liking. I'm sure you can find some other story on this site that will better meet your literary needs.

Now to all my faithful readers, thank you so much for sticking with this story! I appreciate your loyalty and interest. I hope the wait has met to your expectations, and that you will not be disappointed.

As always, flames, praises, comments, and criticisms are appreciated.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything, except this story and the characters I made up. Everything else I borrowed from J.K. Rowling.


	47. Don't Panic

**Days in Avalon  
**

**Chapter Forty-Seven: Don't Panic**

Lily and Andy said nothing to each other the moment they got back to Hogwarts. As they walked into the Gryffindor common room, no one took any real notice to them. It wasn't until they reached the stairs to the girls' dormitory that they were stopped.

"Where have you two been?" Felicia asked. She and Kelly quickly came up behind them with concern looks on their faces.

"You missed dinner. What took you guys so long? And what happened to your clothes?" Kelly asked as she took in the dirt on Andy's face and on Lily's cloak.

"We went to Hogsmeade. Grabbed dinner there, and lost track of time. On the way back I fell down and ended up taking Lily with me," Andy said smoothly.

Lily was slightly impressed with her friend's ability to come up with a story spot on. Even she was starting to believe it were true rather than being chased by a werewolf that happened to be a classmate and friend.

"Are you okay?" both of them asked.

"Yes, we're fine," Lily chimed in. "But right now I think we both need a bath."

With that said Andy and Lily made their way up to the seventh year room. Once they were inside, Lily motioned for Andy to take the first shower since she was more injured. Lily quietly sat on the spare bed that she hardly slept in anymore since she was given the title of Head Girl. She tried with all her might not to replay the events that had occurred only about an hour or so ago. Luckily within a few minutes Andy stepped out of the bathroom dressed in an old grey Qudditch t-shirt and a pair of blue pajama pants.

Lily silently went into the bathroom, while Andy quickly swallowed two aspirin tablets from her secret bottle that she kept on hand whenever she felt to jittery to create a potion or tonic for pains and headaches. As Lily let the water warm up a bit, she peeled off her ruin clothes and slightly wondered whatever came of the dress she had gotten while in town. At that moment she rather dwell on that trivial item then face the fact that she and her best friend almost died at the hands of their dear friend Remus.

By the time Lily finished with her shower, she walked in to find Andy asleep in her bed. Thinking it wise to not go back downstairs, Lily followed suit and climbed into the bed that she hardly slept in since becoming Head Girl. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.

Andy silently drifted in and out of consciousness until she heard her friends come up from the common room and ready themselves for bed. Within an hour, Andy could hear the slight snoring coming from Felicia's bed and knew she was the only one awake. As silently as she could, she grabbed a hold of her robe and made her way back down to the common room to find that the embers were still glowing. It was nearly two in the morning and she was grateful that her fellow classmates had gone to bed to leave her alone.

She knew there was no real point in going back to bed since she continued to replay the night's events over and over. The sight of Remus in his werewolf form coming at her and Lily, the feeling of his paw grazing her backside, the sight of James and Sirius in their animagus forms coming in to help; all of it seemed like a dream, yet Andy knew it was all too real.

After years of pushing the limit and taking reckless risks, Andy was beginning to think her late-gran was right; she needed to start slowing down and enjoying life rather that throwing it away, especially the way the world was now.

Andy noticed that someone had left a newspaper on the table. When she picked it up, a slight chill ran down her spine when she read the bold headline, "FOUR MISSING PEOPLE FOUND DEAD! The work of You-Know-Who".

The fact that a person like Lord Voldemort was in the world was enough to scare anyone. But what truly scared Andy was the fact that anyone could be taken in an instant by his hand. So many people that she knew were now either missing, dead, or in leagues with that monster. She wished and prayed with every fiber of her being that nothing happened to her friends and family that would force them into this war. A war she knew that she might eventually have to play a hand in as the head of a powerful and very influential family that has the know reputation of not shying away from battle.

The sudden scraping noise from the main painting door brought Andy out of her thoughts. She saw two figures walk into the dimly lit room. The presence of someone in the common room caused James and Peter to stop in their tracks. Peter looked from James to Andy and thought it best to not say a word. Instead he placed the shopping bags he was holding on a nearby chair and quickly disappeared up the stairs.

James continued to stare at Andy trying to find the words to say, but he didn't know what to express: anger, concern, fear, all of which were coursing through his body. Finally it was Andy that ended the silence.

"Where's Black?" she asked.

"With Remus," James answered. "Lily?"

Andy nodded that she was fine. "She's asleep upstairs."

She watched as James let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. With Andy's words, James felt a large weight had been lifted off his shoulders knowing that Lily was safe and whole.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he tried to keep the anger at his friend from bubbling out.

Andy was silent for a moment before everything she had been keeping in was suddenly breaking free. "Not really," she answered with a shaky voice.

All of the anger James was holding back quickly disappeared as he saw his best friend begin to break down. He quickly wrapped her up in his arms and could feel her shake. Andy repeatedly kept apologizing to James for everything that had happen tonight.

"Shhhh. It's okay, Andy." James said gently as he continued to rub her back soothingly. After a few more minutes James could feel her begin to calm down, and guided her over toward the couch. He quickly pulled out his wand and re-lit the fire for some warmth.

Once Andy had gotten a hold of her-self again she began to speak. "I never saw him that close before."

James gave her a quizzical look before he realized what she was talking about. He nodded in understanding and allowed her to continue.

"I knew the lots of you were up to something and when I found out what that was exactly…"

James saw in the look in her eyes, and knew where this conversion was heading. "Andy, listen to me. It's all right."

"No it's not James," Andy pleaded as she shook her head. "This is dangerous, even by my standards! And that is saying something."

"Miranda, relax. We are completely safe. Plus we have fail safeties in place. We did not go into this situation lightly. Why do you think we spent so much time in the library back then? We have thought of every scenario, every possible hiccup that could happen," James said while looking her straight in the eye.

Andy knew that it would be nearly impossible to get through to her friend. She knew deep down that the four of them thought this through, and what James and Sirius had overlooked, Remus would have thought of it.

She gave a small sigh of defeat before meeting his hazel eyes once again. "Just promise me you'll stay safe."

"I will," said James. "Only if you promise to not fight Remus like that again."

"Deal," Andy said as she put out her hand in agreement. "I don't think I'll be willing to see his other side anytime soon."

Andy watched as James became lost in his own thoughts. "You have no idea how scared we were tonight," he said after a moment.

James felt her grab ahold of his hand and give it a tight squeeze. "I'm fine. So is Lily."

"How is she doing? I mean when you got back," said James in a small voice.

"She was fine; a bit shaken up, but no major injuries to report. I did spike her water glass with a sleeping potion. She should sleep soundly until morning."

James gave a sigh of relief as he watch her turn and gaze at the bags across the room.

"What are those?" Andy asked.

"We found your bags in the forest. What were you two doing in Hogsmeade?" James asked for a change in subject.

Andy shrugged slightly as she inspected the bags. When she came across the garment bag that held Lily's dress, she quickly pulled it up and inspected the bag. She noticed a small tear and prayed that the dress was not ruined. Once she got the dress into view she noticed a small tear in the seam, but other than that the dress was still sound.

"Dress shopping," she said with a sigh when she found James still watching her.

"Oh. Who's dress?" he asked.

"Lil's. Found it while browsing the stores," Andy said.

"It's not ruined…is it?" James asked uncertain of what else to say.

"If it was in anyone else's hand, it would be," Andy replied with a smirk.

James gave her a puzzled look. "I'll take that as the dress is not ruined."

"The dress is fine, Jay," Andy laughed. "Thank you for bringing our bags back to the castle."

"It was no trouble," James a little too casually. "Soo…does Lily have a date yet for the ball?"

Andy tried very hard not to giggle at her friend's question. After taking a calming breath she responded. "I'm not really sure. I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering is all," James replied as his cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.

"Are you thinking of asking her?" Andy asked after a moment of silence.

"I don't know," James said as he scratched the back of his head causing his hair to be even messier than before. "I mean…we are supposed to open this ball together. But…I don't know. Who knows? Maybe I'll ask some else."

James turned toward Andy and gave her a challenging look, daring her to say something to convince him to ask Lily. However Andy knew better than to take the bait.

"It's your choice Potter," Andy replied with her hands yielded. "No one said the two of you had to go together."

"Right," James replied with a nod. He looked at the clock in the common room and saw that it was now just after two thirty in the morning. "It's getting late. We should head off to bed."

"You're right," Andy agreed. She began to pack up the bags into her hands but before heading up the stairs she stole a quick glance at the door.

James on the other hand saw what her action. He softly placed a hand on her shoulder. "He'll be out there all night watching over Moony. He probably won't be back in the castle until dawn."

He watched as Andy's cheeks turned a bright shade of magenta before nodding her understanding. "Okay," she said softly.

Andy tried to make her way up the stairs but was stopped but James's hand on her shoulder once more.

"Look…Andy," he started. "I don't know what is going on with the two of you, but just know that…"

Andy waited a moment for his reply. "Know what James?"

James sighed heavily before he answered her question. "In all the years I've known him, I've never seen him like this before. He's my best friend, Miranda. Hell he's practically a brother to me. I'm asking you…please don't hurt him. I don't think he could take it."

Andy swallowed thickly at her friend's words. "I think it's time we headed off to bed now, Jay."

With that said she quickly turned on her heels and headed for the stairs. As she got about the third step she heard James's voice once more.

"Miranda."

She stopped in her tracks and turned back toward James. Seeing the solemn expression on his face was possibly scarier than the thoughts and feelings that threatened to bubble over and swarm her tired mind. Andy blinked slowly before answering his request. "All right, James."

The two friends then parted ways for the night.

* * *

As the bright morning sunlight shown through the window, Remus groaned loudly as he began to stir. For a moment he had forgotten he was in the dingy room of the Shrieking Shack that is until he began to stretch his limbs and felt a bolt of white hot pain that shot through his body. He winced slightly as he began to pull the blanket across him up his body. The softness of the blanket felt nice against his skin and for a moment he relished in its warmth.

'_Wait__a__second__'_, Remus thought as he began to remember where he was exactly and the fact the blanket he was usually covered up in after his transformation was a bit scratchy not soft. It was then that he recognized the smell of hot coffee nearby.

Remus sat up quickly, regretting it a second later as he tried to get some bearing over what was going on.

"Good morning Rem," said a soft voice in the shadows. Remus turned to his right and was shocked upon seeing his morning visitor.

"L-lily?" Remus croaked as he watched her smile slowly while sitting on the floor a few feet away from him, under the high window. "W-what are you doing here?" he asked as he pulled the blanket over his torso more.

Lily sat there for a moment trying to find the right words to say. In all honesty she herself didn't know why she was there at all, but felt the need to see him when she had awoken a little more than an hour prior to arriving. "I figured you might need this," she said as she pushed over a dark bag toward Remus.

He curiously took the bag and found a large thermos in there. Upon opening it he caught the whiff of sage and old gym socks and nearly gaged at the aroma of the healing potion.

"It's for your injuries. Andy's private stash," Lily said as she to cringe at smell of the potion. She watched as Remus quickly drank the majority of the potion in one swig. Almost instantly she saw him looking much better as the color returned to his skin tone.

"Thank you," he said after a finishing the potion. A second later, he saw Lily's hand holding a small mug of coffee that she had brought with her as well. The warm liquid easily replaced the dreaded aftertaste of the healing potion.

The two of them sat in silence for a moment before Remus had to ask her once more. "Lily…why are you here?"

"You don't remember…do you?" Lily asked him. "About last night I mean."

Remus looked at her puzzled until flashes from the previous night came back in fragmented pieces. Visions of Lily and Andy walking down a path to the Shack. Both of them running away from him while flashes of light pass by him. Hearing Lily's screams. Hearing Andy's yells as she jumped out of his way quickly. See both girls frighten of him before being hit hard by someone.

"Oh shit," Remus whispered as he hung his head. He ran both hands through his hair as the revelation of what he almost did last night hit him like a ton of boulders. "I…I did it again…I almost…"

Lily could see his internal battle and saw the panic attack begin to rise in him. She quickly scooted over to his side and placed a calming hand on his bare shoulder. "You didn't." she said simply making him look at her face. "You didn't. Both Andy and I are fine."

Remus gulped down air into his lungs and tried to calm his racing heartbeat. For a moment he wondered where Sirius was since he remembered seeing him in his dog form last night before he blacked out again from exhaustion.

"What is it?" Lily asked seeing the look on his face.

"Are we alone?" Remus asked in a slightly weak tone.

Lily looked at his puzzled before answering "Yes".

"There is no one else here?" he asked. "Andy?"

"No, she's is back at the castle. There is no one here but us. When I got here I found you on the floor near that old wool blanket," Lily said. "Why do you ask? Where you expecting someone?"

Remus took another swig from his mug before answering. "Sometimes Madam Pomfrey will come out to check on me. I didn't know if she was here or not."

"I guess this is not one of those times. It is just the two of us," Lily said softly. Remus watched her for a moment before she started speaking once more.

"Remus I'm not here to degrade you or anything like that. I just wanted to make sure that you were all right."

"Really?" Remus inquired.

"Yes. I'm your friend Remus, no matter what," Lily said with a small smile. Her smile was infectious for soon Remus was smiling as well as the two friends chatted before heading back to school for morning classes.

* * *

Lily quickly rushed into Transfiguration knowing she was the last person to arrive. Professor McGonagall simply glared at Lily for her interruption for a moment before continuing on with her lesson. She took a seat next to Karen and quickly scanned the room to see where everyone else was. Normally Felicia and Andy would be at the table next to them, but today Lily only found Felicia doodling on her note pad.

She glanced around the room until she caught sight of Andy's blonde hair sitting in the back of class next to James.

"Where's Black"? Lily mouthed to Karen.

She shrugged quickly before responding, "Don't know. Andy walked in with Potter and sat with him."

Lily nodded in response while taking down a few notes of what Professor McGonagall was writing on the blackboard.

"I also heard that the two of them were up talking late last night," Karen whispered.

Something deep inside Lily did not sit well with her upon hearing this news. "Where did you hear this?" she asked

"This morning at breakfast. Some second year claims that she heard them when went looking for her sick cat. And supposedly saw them snogging in the dark," Karen said comically. Lily on the other hand stayed quite for a moment.

"What happened last night with the both of you?" Karen asked curiously.

"Nothing. Andy just fell and took me down with her," Lily said plainly before turning back to McGonagall's lecture.

"Right."

Lily could not stop thinking about what Karen had said about the second year's claim. _'__Saw__them__snogging__in__the__dark__'_. Could they really be back together again? No. That can't be true. Not after what Andy had told her last night at the pub. Then why would they be together like that talking late into the night?

Before she knew it, the bell had rung dismissing class. By the time Lily looked over at the table Andy had been sitting at she only found James there packing up his books into his bag. Feeling compelled to talk to him, Lily made a beeline for the door to catch him.

"Hi James," she said a little too brightly.

James was slightly taken back by her sudden appearance but welcomed it none the less. "Hi Lily. How are you this morning? I heard about your tumble."

"Oh, I'm fine. Nothing major broken. Um…where did Andy go?" she asked in what she hoped was a casual tone.

"I don't really know. She bolted out of class before I could ask her. Though knowing her she's probably letting the other team members know about when the next practice will be," James replied.

"Practice? Oh…right Qudditch season," Lily said. _'__That__must__have__been__what__they__were__talking__about__last__night.__'_ Lily remembered a number of times walking in on Andy and James in the middle of the common room acting out plays that they could use to show during practices.

"Right," James said a little confused at Lily's reaction. "So…are you heading off to Herbology?"

"I am. You?" she asked a bit awkwardly knowing full well that he did.

"Yes. Can I walk with you to class?" he asked a bit shyly, which Lily found very sweet at that particular moment.

"Sure. I'd like that a lot," she replied with a grin. It was then that Lily noticed the wrapping around James's arm when he adjusted his bag.

"What happened to your arm?" she asked out of concern.

"Hmm? Oh, that? Nothing to worry about. Just snagged my arm on a branch while practicing last night. The guys and I spent hours trying to find that damn snitch," James said smoothly. Of course at that moment his mind wandered back to the events of last night and seeing Lily on the ground with a werewolf coming toward her. The fear that he felt right at that moment was almost crippling.

"Did you ever get it?" Lily asked as she saw him lost in his own thoughts.

James blinked back into reality and acted as if he had not spaced out for a moment. "Yes we did. Just out of curiosity, why where you and Andy in Hogsmeade last night?"

"Supply shopping for the ball," Lily said simply. "And then Andy insisted on getting this dress for the ball."

"Wait, Andy is wearing an off the rack dress? Is she trying to kill her mother?" James said with a raised eyebrow.

Lily laughed at his reply in knowing Andy's family so well. "No. The dress was actually for me."

"Oh," James said simply. Lily waited a moment for him to bring up something about the ball and whether or not they should go together but he remained silent. Instead she decided to take measures into her own hands.

"So…about the ball…" Lily started.

"Hey Lily!" yelled someone up ahead of them. The two of them saw a tall dark blond haired Fifth year boy running toward them. It was Andy's younger brother Jason.

"Jason?" Lily asked as she saw the worried look on his face.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" he said a bit out of breath. "Hi Potter."

"Hey Jason. I'll let you two talk. I'll see you in class, Lily," James said before heading down the hall that led to the greenhouses.

"What's wrong Jason?" Lily asked.

"Have you seen my sister lately?" Jason asked sheepishly. He realized his actions were causing a false alarm and tried to apologize for them. "She's not in the greenhouses and I know she has Herbology this hour."

"No sorry. I haven't seen her since last period. Is something wrong?" Lily asked.

"No. I just have a free period now and I wanted to talk to her. I haven't seen her much since school started. It's almost as if she's avoiding me."

Lily pulled him toward a window so that they were out of the flow of student traffic and could have a bit more privacy. "She's not avoiding you Jason. She's just been busy. You know how she can get."

"Right. Just like dad. The two of them are too much alike," Jason said darkly.

"So I've heard," Lily said with a laugh to try to lighten the mood.

She could see that the young boy before her was having a difficult time with everything that had happened to his family. The first time she had met Jason, he was a bright energetic eleven year old, ready to take on the world. Now at the age of fifteen he seemed to have lost some of his spark. But who could really blame him. In just a few short years he had endured his parent's divorce and now a feud between his father and sister, it's a wonder he hasn't acted out like Andy had a few years ago.

"This past summer I take it wasn't so great for either one of you? Was it?" Lily asked.

"Not really," Jason snorted. "Dad wasn't home much since Andy left that night. Hell I don't even think he opened his presents yet. They're probably still sitting on the side table in the dining room back home."

"Presents?" Lily asked.

"My dad's birthday presents. We were going to have him open them after dinner, but that didn't happen. Instead the war happened," Jason said sarcastically.

Lily stayed quiet for a moment as she remembered when Andy had joined her family back in the middle of August.

"Your father's birthday is in July, right?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, first part. Why? What's wrong?" Jason asked seeing Lily's face going blank for a moment.

"Nothing. Never mind. I'll let Andy know you are looking for her when I see her," Lily said with a comforting smile.

"Thanks Lily. I'll let you get to class now. Bye."

With that Jason took off down the hall, leaving a slightly confused Lily standing in the now half empty hall, wondering why her best friend had lied to her for months and wondering where she could have been for nearly three weeks during the summer holiday.


	48. Confessions

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Forty-Eight: Confessions**

Once Lily was done with her class she bolted out of the greenhouse, while a perplexed James watched and wondered what was going on. Lily ran toward the library but could not find Andy. Taking a moment she realized that the only place Andy would go to get away from anyone would be back to Gryffindor tower.

When she entered the common room she found only a few first and second years around quickly leaving to get to their next classes. Lily tried to keep her anger in check as she climbed the steps of the girls' dormitory, but found it difficult to keep out a few soft grunts.

'_She had better be in there'_, she thought before opening the door marked 'Seventh Year'.

As Lily opened the door she caught the sight of Andy's blond hair as she sat in the window staring out into the overcast sky. Noticing that she didn't move, Lily did a quick sweep of the room to find that they were indeed alone. It wasn't until Lily closed and locked the door that Andy finally became aware of Lily's presence.

"Oh! Hey Lily," Andy said, trying to sound normal. One look into her best friend's eyes and Andy knew that something was wrong.

"Hello Miranda," Lily said ominously.

"What's wrong?" Andy asked cautiously. She took in Lily's stance and recognized it as the one she normally took when she was about to verbally attack someone, mainly one James Potter.

Lily took in Andy's appearance but didn't really see her. All she could see was betrayal and distrust in that her own best friend, someone she saw as her own sister, had been lying to her for months.

"Oh, nothing's wrong," Lily said haughty. "Jason's been looking for you. He tracked me down outside of Herbology. You remember Herbology right?"

"Jason? Is there something wrong with him?" Andy asked quickly.

"No. He just hasn't seen you in a while and he wanted to talk to you about some things going on," Lily said as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"All right. I'll go and talk to him at dinner," Andy said as she watched her friend move around the room. "Is there something going on with you Lil? Because right now you are kind of scaring me, and normally I have a clue as to why you are going all interrogator on me right now. But frankly I can't think of anything."

Lily stopped moving and turned directly at her friend sitting in the window. "Jason and I had a little chat before I went to the class you skipped today."

"Yeah I know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was skipping. Something came up and I had to deal with it," Andy said tiredly as she looked toward the floor, remembering what had happened a few hours prior to now. "What did you two talk about?"

"Your father's birthday party actually," Lily said with a shrug.

"His birthday party? Why would you be talking about my dad's birthday party when he didn't even…" Andy started before she caught on as to why her friend was now mad.

"Aw crap," Andy muttered quietly.

"I'm not mad, Andy," Lily said a bit more calmly.

"No but you're pissed off right now, and frankly I don't see why as it's none of your business," Andy said warily.

"Andy I just want to know where you were for all those weeks. Do you have any idea what is going on in the world now? How many people have gone missing?" Lily said in a raised tone.

Andy laughed sinisterly at Lily's line of thought. "Oh please. I highly doubt that someone like You Know Who is going to come after little old me. A mudblood with a bad attitude."

"Miranda, please. Since the moment you came to my house this summer you've been a bit off. You're not yourself. Yes, I know you are in a disagreement with your father over your magic, but it's more than that," Lily said with unease. "What happened to you? Where were you?"

"I was at the Leaky Cauldron," Andy said quickly.

Lily snorted at her statement. "For someone who prides themselves on being able to lie to anyone, you really suck at it right now. You weren't at the Leaky Cauldron because that is the first place your father would have gone looking for you."

"Fine, then I was at my gran's house," Andy replied.

"That's an even lousier lie then you staying at the Leaky Cauldron," Lily stated.

"And why is that Evan?" Andy said darkly.

"Because you've said so yourself several times that you would never go there until you were done with school. Besides you can't get in there anyway until you graduate, because until then the house does not belong to you. Or have you forgotten that you had me read your grandmother's will as well?" Lily stated.

The two young women stared at each other for what felt like eternity before Andy was the one to turn away. She walked back over toward the window and stared out the window that was now covered in icy rain drops.

"For Merlin's sake, Andy," Lily said with a deep sigh. "I'm your best friend. I won't judge you, if that is what you are thinking. I just want to know because I care about you, and where ever you were or whatever happened to you is tearing you up inside."

Lily waited for a moment for Andy's response but got none. All she could hear was her friend's deep breaths as she continued to stare out into empty space.

Andy knew her best friend was worried about her. It wasn't that Andy was afraid of telling Lily what really happened. She knew that Lily would not judge her, no matter what happened. It was that Andy was more afraid of what it would all mean if she actually said it out load. She was afraid of finally having to face something that she had tried putting off for nearly over a year now.

"Andy please just…" Lily started.

"I was with Sirius," Andy said heavily.

Lily took in those four little words and still couldn't get a grasp of what she had said. For a moment she thought that Andy was just telling her another story. That is until she saw the look and silent tears on her best friend's face and knew then that she was telling the truth.

It took Lily a moment before she could respond. "Sirius…Black?"

"How many other guys named Sirius do we know?" Andy laughed before she took a seat on her trunk at the foot of her bed.

Lily blinked for a few moments as she tried to get over the initial shock of what she had just been told. "You were with Black," she said slowly. "But…you hate him."

"I don't hate him," Andy said softly. "I mean…I did…but now…I just…I mean we're…ah hell I don't even know anymore."

Lily stared at Andy for a long moment before taking a seat next to her. She tried to take it all in, but found it impossible. But yet deep down, it wasn't that much of a shock at all.

Andy watched Lily out of the corner of her eye, waiting to her what she had to say next. However to her, Lily's silence was maddening to the point of insanity.

"Would you say something please?" Andy pleaded.

Lily shook her head as she tried to picture her best friend living with Sirius Black in a small London flat. There was only one word she could think of at that moment to utter. "Wow."

For a second Andy glared at her best friend. "I just told you that I basically spent the summer living with a guy that has been my enemy for years, and all you can say is "Wow"? Geez, I'd hate to think what you'd say if I said I was with your old buddy Severus."

"Oh come on now Miranda," laughed Lily. "But I do have to ask you one thing right off."

"And that would be?" Andy asked.

"Well…you were with Sirius," Lily started. "A notorious cad."

"Right…where are you going with this Lil?"

"Did you two…were you two…did the two of you…"

"What? Oh. Oh! Oh god no! No! We didn't do that."

"Okay. Just checking to see what page we were on," Lily said with relief. But when she noticed the look in Andy's eyes, she knew there was something else. "But something happened."

"You could say that," Andy said with a sigh.

"So…what happened?"

"Well…"

* * *

The rush of wind coming off the Thames would normally feel welcomed to all as they walked alongside the river bed, especially after an oddly warm summer day. But for Andy the breeze went unnoticed. Night was slowly creeping up on the world but that too went unnoticed by the young witch. She was still trapped in her mind replaying the events that occurred only an hour ago.

The words she said to her father. The words he said to her. The fact that she had used magic against him when he tried to argue his point that a life with magic was dangerous and would be her downfall replayed in her mind on a constant loop. Finally after a while her anger began to subside and she regained her bearings. A slight fear began to grow in her as she began to realize that she had no place to go. The majority of her friends were off on holiday with their families, and those that were still around were too far away to journey in one night. She thought about heading over to the Leaky Cauldron, but if she knew her father that would be one of the first places he would look for her. Even though technically she was of age in the wizarding world, in the muggle world she was still a minor and her father could call the local authorities to track her down.

She needed to find a place where no one would find her, but close enough in case her brother needed her in an emergency. Suddenly only one name popped in her head. She just hoped that its owner would understand why she left her home.

Andy blinked rapidly as she walked up the flight of stairs of the modern apartment flats in the area of London known as the Isle of Dogs, a moderate amount away from her home near Kensington Garden. To some people they saw this part of London as a bit of a rough end, but to her it seemed to suit its one occupant perfectly. By the time she reached the top floor she began to look for the number that she had memorized since had gotten Sirius's letter.

"309, 311," she counted off softly until she stood before a door marked 313. But as soon as she raised her hand to the door, she froze.

'_What the hell am I doing here? Why did I even think that I could come here?'_ Andy second guest herself. She wasn't sure if Sirius would be helpful at all or what he would think of her coming to his flat this late at night. Thinking that she would be able to find a cheap hotel with the amount cash she had on her, Andy quickly turned to leave. However as she turned she ended up tripping over her own feet and fall face first into the rough carpet. As she fell she also ended up taking out a fire extinguisher that was attached to the wall.

"OW! SON OF A BITC…"Andy groaned loudly as she tried to regain her bearings only to hear someone behind her.

"Sparky?"

Andy inwardly groaned upon hearing that name. She turned over and found Sirius staring down at her from his doorway.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he reached her side on the ground.

"Not really, but I'll live," Andy replied as she tried to get up with his aid.

She looked up and saw the puzzled look upon his face. "What are you doing here Andy?"

Andy bit her lower as she tried to form the right words in her head, before answering him honestly. "I didn't know where else to go."

Sirius watched her for a moment allowing her words to sink in. A second later he was helping her off the floor and brought her into his flat. Andy took in the modest flat and was surprised to see it fully furnished.

"Have a seat," Sirius said as he gestured toward the comfy looking dark blue couch. Andy quietly sat down as she tried to come to terms with everything that happened. She looked up and found Sirius staring at her once again. She could see the confusion going through his mind as he tried to make sense of what could bring her to his flat.

"Do you want anything? Tea? Water?" he asked.

Even Andy was surprised at her reply. "Got anything a little stronger?"

"Sure," he said. A second later he headed toward the open kitchen next to the spacious living room. Andy looked around saw a few pictures along the mantel of the fireplace. Most of them were of Sirius and James, but a few were of his cousin Andromeda and her muggle husband, along with their newborn baby girl.

"Here you go," said a voice to her right. Andy jumped a bit but took the glass of a dark amber liquid. For a moment she hoped it was firewhiskey. As she let the liquid run down her throat, she didn't feel the normal burning affects. Instead she tasted honey and cloves that were slightly more potent to her.

"What is this?" chocked Andy.

"Vintage Port Wine" Sirius answered. He took a seat in the chair next to where Andy sat on the couch. "It was part of my great-uncle's wine collection that he left to me in his will."

"It's good," Andy commented as she took another slow sip.

The silence between them felt like ages for Andy. She didn't know what to say or what to do anymore. Thankfully it was Sirius who finally broke the silence.

"I know I'm repeating myself but, you never really answered my question before. Why are you here Andy?" Sirius asked.

Andy took a moment to collect her thoughts before answering. "I needed to get away."

"Away from what?" he asked. She said nothing. She could see that he was starting to become frustrated with her. "Do need me to owl someone for you? Your dad?"

The mention of Andy's father nearly caused her to explode out of her seat. "Don't you dare contact that man," she growled.

Sirius nodded in understanding but still wasn't sure why she didn't want her father knowing where she was. "Miranda did something happen tonight with your father?"

Andy snorted at Sirius's question. She took another swig of her drink and began to pace back and forth in front of Sirius. "If you count me getting into a row with that man and nearly hexing him as "something", then yes. Something did happen tonight."

Sirius nearly choked on his drink. "You almost hexed your father? Why? I thought you two were close," he coughed.

"Not anymore," Andy replied darkly. She gave a hard sigh before continuing on. "My…_father_, informed me tonight that after my last year at Hogwarts, he wants me to go to a muggle university and stop practicing magic."

"What?" asked a gob smacked Sirius.

"He wants me to stop being a witch and become a prominent lawyer like him," Andy replied. At that moment she felt completely drained. She took a seat once more on Sirius's couch as she finished off her drink.

Sirius stared at her for a moment taking in her words. "But you can't just stop being a witch. It's who you are! Besides what about the Marshall name?"

Andy laughed darkly at his question. "That's why he wants me to stop being a witch. He doesn't want me to 'run the family business'."

"What do you mean by that?" Sirius asked.

"He found out what Marshall's are notorious for in the wizarding world," Andy said as she took another swig of her drink.

"Wizarding politics?" Sirius guessed.

"Getting involved in wars and not seeing them all the way to the end of them." Andy said darkly.

Sirius gazed upon her for a moment as he took in her words. "He found out about "You-Know-Who". Didn't he?"

"Bingo! He thinks I will get involved somehow. And from there our argument got very ugly."

"Will you?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow.

Andy was silent for a moment as she thought about his question and the gravity of what he was asking. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "For now, no. But if for some reason I do happen to cross paths with him or his Death Eaters…then what choice do I have? I have to protect my family. There aren't very much of us left if you hadn't noticed."

She felt Sirius's gaze on her as she let her mind wander off into a land of endless dark possibilities. "Why can't he see that?" she asked softly.

"He just wants to protect you the only way he knows how," Sirius answered honestly.

Andy chuckled at his response. "Gods….the things he said. The things I said to him…I'd never seen him like that before. Not even when he was still married to my mother."

At that moment, Andy let the reality of what had transpired between her and her father hit her. It soon became too much to deal with as she felt the first tear drops begin to fall. As she sat there for a moment she suddenly felt the cushion sink a bit more along with a pair of strong arms wrapping around her.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. Shhh….it's alright Andy. It will be all right," Sirius said softly as he rubbed her back softly.

"I can't go back there. I just can't go back there now," Andy choked out as she tried to calm herself down.

"You don't have to," Sirius said softly. His words took Andy by surprise as she pulled away for a moment to look him in the eye.

Sirius took one look into her sad eyes and felt his heart break. He gently tucked a strand of hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear. "You can stay here as long as you need to. I won't tell anyone you're here. You're safe here Miranda. I won't let anything happen to you."

* * *

"And that's it?" Lily asked. "He just let you hang out at his place?"

"Well we did go out a few times. Showed him some of muggle London, took him to picture show. That sort of thing," said Andy.

Lily stared at her friend as she sat on her bed while Andy paced back and forth in the center of the room. "You went on dates with him?"

"They weren't dates," Andy said sternly. "Just…two friends hanging out."

"Are you sure about that Andy?" Lily asked with a raised eyebrow.

Andy stopped her movements and thought about what Lily had just said. The truth was, after everything that has happened, she just wasn't sure about anything anymore. Sure deep down she thought things were just as platonic as Andy and Sirius had tried to display to the rest of the world. But in reality was she subconsciously hoping that something would develop more with Sirius? A thousand thoughts and questions ran threw her mind as she replayed the events of the summer once again.

Lily watched her for a moment wondering what her best friend was thinking. "Andy?" The moment she turned toward her, Lily knew something had happen. "What happened between the two of you?"

"It happened the day I got your letter that you were back home," Andy started.

* * *

Andy left her room and walked toward the kitchen wondering what Sirius was doing with all the pots and pans clanking around. It was only nine in the morning, but she could already tell that it was going to be another hot summer day. She was silently thanking the witch or wizard that created cooling charms.

"What are you doing?" she asked her roommate of nearly three weeks.

Sirius turned around while still mixing the contents in his bowl. "Making pancakes. Want some?"

Andy laughed a little upon taking in the destruction he was causing in his own kitchen. She also saw how much flour he was using and cringed. ""Since when do you know how to cook?"

"Well I know how to cook some things," he said. He looked down at his bowl and saw that his batter mix looked more like a hard rock, then the loose liquid he was used to seeing Mrs. Potter create.

"Have you ever made pancakes before?" Andy asked.

"No. But it can't be that hard?" he said with a grin. Andy watched as he cracked open another egg and dumped it into the bowl.

"Umm...Blackie? You don't put the egg shells in along with the batter," Andy said as tried not to cringe at the mess he was creating.

Sirius looked down at the bowl and began to quickly pick out the shells in the batter. "Oh. I knew that."

Seeing him trying to be creative in the kitchen was very endearing to her, but she knew at this rate he was likely to blow the kitchen up. "Would you like some help?"

"Sure."

Within a few minutes, Andy had taught Sirius how to make the batter properly and were about to start on another stack of pancakes. "So where did you learn how to cook?" he asked with a smile.

"My parents," Andy replied. "My mom usually made breakfast for us and was pretty good at bake goods as well; and my dad usually cooked dinner. I'd always helped them out."

"I see," said Sirius as he began to spill some more batter into the frying pan. But instead he end up getting some on Andy's shoes and shorts.

"Sirius!"

"Oh I'm so sorry," laughed Sirius.

"Oh you think this is funny, huh?" said Andy. Sirius tried hard not to laugh but was fighting a losing battle. "Well if you think that's funny how about this?"

Sirius continued to laugh uncontrollably until he was suddenly met with a face full of flour.

"Now that's funny," giggled Andy.

"Oh yeah?" said Sirius as a sly grin graced his face. Andy didn't like the look in his eyes and began to back away as Sirius reached into the bowl of flour.

"Don't even think about it, Blackie," laughed Andy.

"Too late!" he said before he threw a hand full of flour at Andy. She squealed and ducked out of the way of his attack. Instead of getting the flour in her face, she got a bit in her hair and on the back of her shirt. Sirius chased her around the tiny island in his kitchen as she tried to escape. Andy started to head down the hallway toward her room in order to escape from him, but he was too quick for her. He grabbed a hold of her and began to tickle her sides as she tried to squirm out of his grasp.

"Sirius...stop," giggled Andy as she gasped for air.

"No I don't think so," he chuckled as he continued his assault. Somehow, Andy had managed to get a hold of his one side and began to tickle him back. Sirius let up on her for a bit and turned her more towards the wall so he could pin her. Within a matter of moments, Sirius had successfully pinned Andy's arms over her head.

"You prat," giggled Andy. "Let me go."

"No. You'll just throw something else at me, and I can't really have that now." said Sirius with a smile.

"Sirius, come on," said Andy as she playfully pouted at him in hopes he would let her go.

Sirius stared down at her as she tried to seduce her way out of his hold. He enjoyed seeing her happy. The bright smile that graced her face suited her more than the tears he saw the night she arrived at his front door. To him the entire room seemed to light up every time that infectious grin graced her face. He treasured the fact that she was happy here with him. He relished in the fact that he knew that she was only a moment away from him. He reveled in the fact that she was the last person he saw every night, and the first when he woke up in the morning. He also delighted in the fact that he could get so close to her like he was now without having to sneak around in the dark.

Not thinking at all Sirius leaned in and kissed her softly. The moment his lips brushed hers, there was an electric charge that surprised them both.

Andy watched as his eyes began to turn from laughter into something almost indescribable. She had seen this look before so many times before, but it usually only lasted for a moment. She suddenly became aware of her heart pounding in her chest and her labored breathing. When she looked back up at his face her sight landed on his slightly full pink lips that she was suddenly hungry for.

Sirius once again became lost in the bright blue pools before him. He began to search her face, as if trying to commit the image of her in this moment to memory. He scanned her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, until his eyes finally came to rest on her very pink lips. He watched as she unconsciously licked her bottom lip that was driving him mad.

"Sirius I..." whispered Andy. But whatever she was going to say was lost the moment Sirius pressed his lips against her own once again. He kissed her with such passion that Andy thought she would lose consciousness. It wasn't until this moment that she understood why young women tend to swoon over a kiss. As quickly as it happened it was over. Andy slowly opened her eyes to find Sirius's face only centimeters away. Although her arms were beginning to feel heavy since he still had her pinned to the wall, Andy didn't feel anything except the intense gaze of Sirius's grey eyes staring right back at her.

"Sirius," she whispered again in an almost wanton tone as she rose up, as he once again captured her soft sweet lips once again. This time, Sirius lightly nipped and then ran this tongue along her bottom lip begging for entrance to which Andy was more than eager to oblige.

Sirius's entire mind began to shut down completely as he explored the sweet cavern of her mouth. Andy let out a stifled moan as his tongue raked across the roof of her mouth. It was an electrifying moment for the both of them. Sirius began to let go of his grip on Andy's wrist and slowly moved his hands down her sides until one hand came to rest on her waist, while the other entwined it's self in Andy's hair. His fingers began to rub her scalp as he pulled her closer.

Andy finally lowered her arms as well as one came to rest on his chest, while the other grabbed a hold of his long black hair; trying to get closer to him. Sirius let up on his attack and heard her gasp for air. He then tilted his head while slightly lifting her for a moment against the wall as his lips grazed her neck. Slowly did his hands progress down to her hips, tugging at her shirt. Andy tried to suppress the moan that began to rise in her throat as she clung to him urging him to go on. Sirius moved up from her neck to her jawline until he once again claimed her lips.

In the back of her mind, Andy knew this was wrong. But his kisses were amazing; so amazing in fact that she felt as if she had taken some sort of drug that was putting her in this incredible haze. She could not control her own body for a few seconds. Her hands would keep pulling him closer to her instead of pushing him away. Her lips would respond to him instead of closing off his advances.

Sirius continued to tug at her shirt as his one hand began to run up her back, touching her bare skin sending white hot sparks throughout her body. Andy began to unbutton his shirt and run her hands along his bare chest and abs. The rumors were right for once, all those years of Quidditch training had paid off very well.

Sirius had enough of this little game. He pulled her even closer as she began to explore his mouth. He was about to pick her up and carry her into his room, when suddenly both of them heard a knock at the door.

Both of them broke away the moment they heard it. Andy gasped for air as did Sirius while they looked at each other.

"Were you expecting somebody?" whispered Andy.

"No." said Sirius in a low voice. "It's probably some sales man or something," he whispered as he once again began to kiss Andy's lips.

Andy was about to dismiss the interruption until she heard the knocking again follow by a voice.

"Hey Sirius? You home? Come on man, it's James. Open up!" said James from the other side of the door.

Sirius swore under his breath as he silently cursed his best mate for his poor timing.

"You should answer it. He's not going to leave," said Andy as the realization of what they were doing and what they were about to do came crashing down on her.

Sirius saw the state they were in, and upon seeing her face he could see the regret and guilt of what they had done begin to show. "Miranda," said Sirius.

"Go. I'll hide out in my room," said Andy as she looked toward the ground. She quickly pulled out her wand and muttered a cleaning spell that took care of the flour they hand thrown around as she headed down the hall to her room. Sirius watched her silently as she walked away. He heard James knock again as he groaned at the noise.

"Alright! I'm coming. Just hold on!" Sirius yelled as he brushed some of the flour off him and made his way to the door while quickly buttoning up his shirt.

* * *

"Once I got back to my room, I saw your owl there," Andy said as she watched her best friend take everything in.

"And James never saw you there?" Lily asked.

Andy shook her head in response. "I stayed quiet in there while I waited for your response. Once I got word from you, I quickly packed my things and snuck out the fire escape. As soon as I got a few blocks away I apperated to your house."

Lily paced where Andy had been moments before as she tried to assimilate this bombshell that her best friend has just dropped on her. "And since this whole thing started…I mean you spending time with Black and all…how many times has he kissed you?"

"Twice. The first was at his flat over the summer. The second happened in the shrieking shack."

"The Shrieking Shack? Wait on second thought…I don't want to know," Lily said as she shook her head to rid her of her thoughts. "But that's it right?"

"Not really," Andy said with a scrunched face.

Lily stopped in her tracks to stare at her. "What do you mean?"

"I kissed him," she answered softly

Lily blinked once…twice…"When?" she asked half shouting.

Andy glanced over at a nearby alarm clock before answering. "Oh…about two hours ago?"

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling.


	49. Never Be Ready

**Days in Avalon**

**Chapter Forty-Nine: Never Be Ready**

Sirius sat quietly in his window looking out as the rain fell hard on the Hogwarts grounds. It was hard to believe that only a few short hours ago the sun had been shining and revealed the potential of a glorious day. But that was English weather for you; always changing and just full of surprises.

It was funny how his life was now reflected to the weather. One moment he felt like he was on top of the world and the next he never knew if the sun would shine again.

He hated the fact that Remus was the one who found him a few hours ago going through the end of his emotional storm. He also hated the fact that his friend knew exactly why he had been through a tempest. But what truly scared him was that he knew he would have to tell his best friend what was going on before someone else told him.

Sirius could still feel Remus's eyes even though he tried to appear busy. He could see out of the corner of his eye that he was trying to straighten up something that would likely prevent someone from tripping, or so Remus would say. In reality, Sirius knew it was just busy work to keep his mind off of what had and what was about to occur.

It was at that moment that the door to their room swung open and revealed Peter and James barging in looking like a pair of drowned rats.

"Oy! What brought on this weather? Thought it was supposed to be a glorious day?" James laughed as he whipped off his robes. He quickly muttered a drying spell and took in the air in the room.

Peter also notice that something was amiss between the other half of the Marauders gang. "What's going on mates? You look as if we lost the House Cup."

Remus grabbed a few of his books and loaded them into his bag. "Come on Wormtail. Let's head down to the Library. I can help you with that potions essay you were asking about yesterday."

James looked as his friends and wondered why the sudden need to leave. That is until he saw the look on Remus's face. He now knew that something was drastically wrong with his best mate and needed a friend right now.

As soon as Remus and Peter left the room, James looked over at his best friend. Sirius continued to stare out the window and was ever so quiet; something that was majorly out of character for him.

"So…what's going on Padfoot? Why the long face?" James asked. Again Sirius said nothing.

"You know I thought we were going to practice today before the weather gets too bad," James said hoping to get a reaction.

"Sorry mate," Sirius said softly as he continued to stare out the window. "I just lost track of time."

James watched his friend's reaction and knew now that whatever was on his mind was something heavy. "What's going on Sirius? Is it your folks? Did they send word about something?"

"No it's not them, mate," said Sirius softly.

"But it is something?"

Sirius sighed deeply before closing his eyes for a moment. "It's nothing mate."

"Sirius I know you better than anyone. I know all your secrets and I have never judged you."

Sirius turned his head to face his best friend. "Prong's you would tell me the truth right? No matter what it may be or how I would react right? You would always be honest with me?"

"Of course mate," James replied as he tried to figure out where his friend was going with these questions.

"And you would expect the same in return?" Sirius asked. It was then that James finally got a good look at him. To James, he looked as if he had been through a battle that was life alternating.

"What happened Sirius? Whatever it is I promise I will not think differently of you. No matter what," James stated as he took a seat in the desk chair near the window.

Sirius sighed as he tried to form the right words. "Do you think I'm like them? My parents I mean."

"No. Of course not," James replied.

"Not even my father and his many…relationships…with different women?" Sirius asked with a hard swallow.

James sighed heavily while running a hand through his naturally messy hair. "Look man, no one is as bad as your father when it comes to that. No offense. Sure you do tend to have many relationships, but that is to be expected of us. We are young! We are supposed to act out like that."

Sirius was silent as he took in his friend's words.

"Is that all?" James asked. When he received no reply, he got up from his seat and began to collect his things for a shower. By the time he reached the door way for the loo, he heard Sirius speak.

"Even when it involves Miranda?"

James turned and stared at Sirius who was now standing next to the window. James let out a sigh as he placed his things down on the closest bed. "Miranda? Why would you bring Andy into the middle of this?

Sirius squared his shoulders as he looked James directly in the eye. "I've been seeing her in secret."

James couldn't help but snicker at his friend's stance. "Is this about your match making plan to get me and Lily together? Because I figured that out a while ago."

"How much do you know?" Sirius asked.

"I know that the two of you have been plotting for a while and brought a few of our friends into your little plot. I also know about the polyjuice potion, since I'm the one that found it and destroyed it," James said with his hands on his hips. "What else do I need to know?"

"Did you know that kissed her?" Sirius asked.

James didn't say anything for a moment as he processed the words. "How many bruises did she give you for pulling that move?"

"James I kissed her more than once…and she was with me over the summer holiday."

James blinked rapidly as he took in his friend's words. Even though James and Andy hadn't been together for years now, he did see her as a sister that he was never fortunate enough to have. But now hearing his best friend's confession was now rubbing a raw patch in his chest. Like a beast was clawing, ready to break out and protect her from his trusted friend.

"Excuse me? What…no. That is not possible. Andy wouldn't do that."

"I'm not lying. She came to my flat after she got into that fight with her dad."

"Why would she go to you? Why not Lily? Or me for that matter?" James asked more to himself as he tried to process everything. He knew it was wrong to feel jealous but the beast inside was too strong to contain.

"You were gone on holiday mate," Sirius answered simply.

"So that just gave you the right to let her stay at your place?"

"What was I going to do? Leave her out in the cold? She didn't want anyone to know where she was. She needed a place to disappear and regroup," Sirius stated in an even tone, in hopes that it would calm James down.

"Did…did you…were the…two of you…" James stuttered.

"James I didn't touch her. She stayed in the guest room. I never went after her. I swear," Sirius said as he saw what James was trying to get at.

"Nothing happened?"

"I won't lie. There was one time that it was getting…heated, but we were interrupted. By you actually," Sirius said with a half grin.

"Good! She doesn't…"

"Contrary to what you may think, Andy can hold her own, Prongs. Plus, I may be a lot of things, but I would never force myself on a girl…EVER!"

James sat down on the bed next to his things as he felt his head swimming. "She's not a conquest, Sirius. She's my best friend…a sister…and if this is some morbid fancy that is only going to end up with you hurting her…"

"I know she is not a conquest James. I've never treated her as if she were just another girl," Sirius answered.

"So you have feelings for her?" James asked.

James watched as his friend fought to find the words to describe what he was feeling. "I don't know what I feel mate. But whatever it is, she won't want me now. Not after what happened."

"What does that mean? What happened then? Sirius…what did you do?" James asked.

* * *

Sirius continued to lay in his bed long after his friend's had gone off to class. He kept replaying the events of last night in his head, and was torn from wanting to see how a certain blond was doing and from wanting to forget about her completely. Was she in the hospital wing? Was she still in the girl's dorm? Did she go to class at all today? Why the hell could he only turn into a dog and not something small like a fly or rat so he could spy on her more easily?

It was during these thoughts that someone began to pound on his door.

"Go away!" Sirius shouted at the door. A second later there was another rap at the door.

"I said bugger off!" he shouted again. For a moment there was nothing and Sirius thought he was finally free to his thoughts once more. That is until the knocking started again. Frustrated over his visitor, Sirius got up from his bed and marched over toward the door.

"I said bugger…"Sirius started until he saw the face of the girl he was thinking about just a moment ago.

"Andy? What are you doing here?" he asked a little flustered.

Andy stood in his door way as she if she were shocked to find herself there as well. "I came to see you. You weren't in class today."

"I wasn't feeling well," he said with a shrug.

"May I come in?"

Sirius moved out of the way and allowed her in. Once she was in, he closed the door and sent a silent prayer to the heavens for strength to get him through this meeting. He turned and watched her move about the room as she took everything in.

"Why are you here Sparky?"

"Like I said, I came to see you," she said with a shrug.

Sirius crossed his arms as he took the sight of her in. "Why?"

"I came to make sure that you were all right," Andy said softly as she looked him in the eye.

"I'm fine. Just a few scratches and bumps. Nothing out of the ordinary," he said coolly. The sight of her before him suddenly brought on a seething rage that he was finding hard to contain. He knew that he had no right to lash out at her, but then seeing the memory of her taking on a werewolf rather than running for the hills was something he found hard to dismiss.

"Oh," Andy stated as she recoiled slightly from his tone. Realizing what he was doing, Sirius tried to relax for her sake.

"How are you? I mean did he…are you…" he asked as another vision popped into his head.

"No worse off than fighting a couple of punk Slytherins," Andy said with a chuckle in hopes of lighting the mood. When she saw his face, Andy knew that he was not having any of that. "I'm fine Blackie. So is Lily."

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked as he looked her over.

"Yes. I'm…" Andy started as she went to unconsciously scratch at her wounds that were healing on her arm.

"What is that?" Sirius barked.

"What?"

"On your arm," Sirius asked as he pointed to the arm she was scratching at.

Andy quickly pulled down the sleeve of her robe as if nothing was wrong. "It's nothing."

Sirius walked over and pulled up the sleeve. It was then that he saw the scratches and bruises on her arm. The dark blue and purple contrasted against her pale skin tone. He then quickly pushed her robe off and saw what else was damaged. Bruises all over her other arm; scratches up and down her legs that were partially masked by her knee socks and skirt.

"That…"

"Sirius I'm fine. I've been through worse," Andy said as she tried to reassure him.

"You shouldn't have had to gone through that in the first place. I should have kept a better eye on him last night," Sirius said as he shook his head scolding himself.

"Sirius…it's all right."

"No, it's NOT! You and Lily could have been hurt far worse. If I hadn't gotten there…he could have…he could have…"

"It didn't happen though. You and James saved us both. You were there. That's all that matters," Andy stated as she tried to put a reassure hand on his arm. Sirius brushed her off as he continued to berate himself.

"If we hadn't gotten there…I could never forgive myself if anything ever happened to…"

"We are both fine."

"…to you."

Andy stared at him as she watched his color begin to take on a flush shade of pink that she found so endearing. "Sirius."

"Is that all you have to say?" he asked coolly again.

"Don't be like that."

"Like what?"

"Don't shut me out Black."

"Don't tell me what to do Starmenter," Sirius barked as he turned away from her.

"Why are you being like this?"

"It's what I do. It's who I am. I'm Sirius Black!" he said with his hand raised.

"Yes, but you are not just Sirius Black to me."

Sirius shook his head as he tried to rid himself of the dizzying effect he got whenever she was around or when she spoke in that gentle tone to him. He also tried to ignore the tight feeling he had in his chest that was causing his breath to little harder. "Why are you still here Sparky?"

"I need to tell you something," she said softly again.

"What?"

"Will you turn around and face me?"

Sirius sighed in frustration as he turned back to face her. "What is it Miranda? What do you have to tell me?"

"This." Andy walked up to him swiftly and kissed him with such fieriness that it took Sirius by surprise.

"What are you doing?" he asked. He noticed that he was panting as if he had just been through a grueling practice.

"Something that always tends to happen between us."

"Those times before were a mistake," he said as he tried to escape from her grip.

"Once was a mistake. But twice?"

"I make a lot of mistakes."

"I don't." Sirius stared at her for a moment seeing the bright lust shine in her eyes. That was all the time she needed.

Andy kissed him once more, with a slow fiery passion that consumed Sirius. He quickly wrapped his arms around her as his mouth fought her for dominance. He spun her around and gently placed her on the bed, never breaking the kiss. The feel of her soft lips and her warm hands were becoming too much for him to bear any more and yet he still craved more of her. Always more. But he could hear a nagging little voice telling him that _"This wasn't right. She's not yours. She belongs to someone else."_

That thought was suddenly like a bucket of ice water thrown at him. "NO!" He quickly jumped off the bed and stumbled across to the other side of the room. When his back reached the stone wall he took in what had been doing. Andy sat up on his bed. Her hair was tousled in a way that made him want to put his hands back through her soft gold strands. Her shirt was un-tucked from her skirt and the first couple of buttons on her blouse were undone revealing the soft white bra that lay underneath. Her lips were a deep red and swollen begging to have his lips back on them.

Sirius shut his eyes quickly as he tried to rid his mind of the image, but instead it seemed to be burning on the inside of this eye lids. As he looked down at himself, he took stock in his appearance. Andy or perhaps he had managed to undo all the buttons on his shirt exposing his chest that was still rising and falling as if he had been running for his life.

"We can't do this," he said darkly, still unable to look her in the eye. "I can't do this."

"Sirius…"

"You're not thinking clearly Miranda. You should go back to him. He's who you should really be with. I won't be that guy Andy. Don't make me that guy."

With that said Sirius quickly ran into the bathroom that was only a few feet away, and locked the door. He kept his back braced against the door as he tried to regain his normal breathing pattern. The silence was deafening to him. That was until he heard what was on the other side of the door.

The hammering of Andy's heart beat and her rapid breathing took him by surprise. Especially when he realized he was breathing just as hard. But a moment later he felt his heart break at the little sob that escaped from her lips. He closed his eyes and could practically see the tears streaming down her lovely face.

The whole situation became too much for Sirius as he silently slid to the floor and listened as Andy's gentle foot falls scurried out of the room. The moment he heard the door close, he felt the tears he was holding back break loose and fall freely and swiftly.

* * *

"You kicked her out?" James asked as he blinked rapidly at his best friend.

"I had to. It was the honorable thing to do," Sirius said darkly as he looked out the window.

"What honor? She came to you and you just pushed her away? Why?" James asked.

Sirius sighed deeply as he watched the rain continue to fall on the grounds. "I just had to James. It wasn't right."

James watched him silently for a moment until the truth finally hit him like a dragon's tail. "This isn't about Andy. This is about your father. Isn't it?"

Sirius said nothing as he walked back over toward his bed and sat down on the edge.

"Padfoot, you are not like him. You are nothing like him!"

"Aren't I? That bastard has stolen more women from there significant others than any man I have ever known. Who's to say that the apple doesn't fall from the tree?"

"Sirius…I know your father is not a trustworthy man."

"James."

"Alright he's a bloody bastard that whores around and destroys families and young women's lives and reputations. But that doesn't matter because you are not a Black! Not like them!"

"James, she's still with him. She loves Tristan! I'm just a distraction that keeps getting in the way of her happiness. I won't be a curse upon her."

"But she came to you Sirius. Doesn't that mean anything?" James asked.

"Yeah, it just means she's confused. And one day she's going to wake up and realize that I'm not the right guy for her. She belongs with Tristan. She loves him," Sirius stated.

James started to add something else, but Sirius would not hear of it. "Listen, it's getting late and dinner is probably almost over. I need to get out of here and clear my head. I'm sorry it took so long to tell you the truth. You won't have to worry about her. I'm staying away from her for the rest of the year. And then when we graduate, her and I can go our separate ways and never cross paths again."

James watched as Sirius walk out of the room and realized just how deep his friend's feeling went. In all the years James's had known Sirius he knew that his friend had some serious issues when it came to showing true emotions and feelings. He had always hoped that his friend would find someone to care about, but he had never thought in a million years that it would have been someone like Miranda. Nor did he think he would give up so quickly on his own happiness. Nor did he think he would ever see the day that his fearless best friend was now scared out of his mind of his own feelings.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own nor did I think up of anything to do with the original Harry Potter. It's all J.K.'s doing. I merely borrowed her characters. I only own this story and the characters I made up.


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